To a casual observer, James McBride looks like one of those creative types who can't decide on a career track.

When asked whether he considers himself an author who also makes music, or a musician who happens to write, McBride refuses to choose. Instead, the multitalented, multitasker has opted for a more unconventional title.

"I'm a professional storyteller," explains the author of the 1996 best-seller, The Color of Water. "What matters is what the story is and not which medium you use to tell that story."

McBride, however, didn't arrive at the poetic conclusion overnight. For years, he seemed torn between his two talents.

An accomplished saxophone and piano player, McBride studied music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music. But he pursued a career in journalism and spent eight years working for the Boston Globe and the Washington Post. At 29, McBride quit his secure, high-profile job at the Post to become a full-time musician, inspired by his experience following Michael Jackson on tour for a story.

Though he struggled initially, McBride eventually found musical success. One of his songs appeared on Anita Baker's 1988 Grammy Award-winning album, Giving You the Best That I Got. He scored several musicals and landed the Stephen Sondheim Award. He wrote music for everyone from Grover Washington Jr. to the PBS character Barney.

"I supported myself as a musician when I wrote The Color of Water," notes McBride.

The son of a black father and a Polish, Jewish mother, McBride revealed the struggles of his childhood in the memoir and paid gratitude to a mother who raised 12 children in the face of poverty and racism. The book put McBride on the literary map and earned the writer a string of awards.

He followed his debut in 2002 with the novel Miracle at St. Anna.

But McBride didn't forget his musical roots. Last year, he released The Process, his first solo album. And in an attempt to cross-market to his fans, McBride is promoting the record at bookstores.

"I believe that people who like good books, like good music," says McBride, who visits the Tattered Cover on Saturday.

The program, a fund-raiser for the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, will blend McBride's two loves. Backed by a six-piece band, McBride will share his music and personal stories, centered on the same themes that appear in his books.

"I focus on the commonality of the human spirit," McBride says. "I have a lot of people that come up to me and say, 'my mother did the same thing your mother did.' "

Though McBride has spent the year touring all over the country, the Tattered Cover event is particularly special, because it provides the author with an opportunity to thank the community that provided the most support for his first literary effort.

"The reason the book (The Color of Water) became a success is because of independent book sellers," McBride says. "Best-selling authors have a responsibility to have the guts and stand up and say that the independents should be supported."

McBride's trip to Denver also will include a stop at Manual High School - part of a literacy tour sponsored by Comcast.

"I introduce them to music and literacy in a way they might not have seen before," says McBride, who claims that if he had more time, he'd teach high school. "I feel like we're effecting some change. We're showing kids that we're not all a bunch of squares, who don't understand their concerns or problems."

And McBride might soon hold a new position: political adviser.

President Bush recently nominated him to serve on the National Council of the Arts, the counseling body for the National Endowment of the Arts.

But he has no aspiration to add the title "politician" to his resume.

"This opportunity presented itself and I could not say no because I feel a responsibility toward art," McBride explains. "And it's not like I'm going to be going to the White House every day, talking about how to deal with the the war in Iraq."

A Musical Evening with James McBride

• When and where: 7 p.m., Saturday, Tattered Cover Book Store, 1628 16th St.

• Cost: $5

• Information: 303-436-1070 or www.tatteredcover.com

James McBride

• Age: 45

• Books: The Color of Water, The Miracle at St. Anna

• Musical works: The Process, Bobos (a hip-hop musical).

• Awards: The 1997 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Literary Excellence; American Library Association Notable Book of the Year; American Music Festival's Stephen Sondheim Award; the 1996 ASCAP Richard Rodgers Horizons Award

• Family: Married with three children

gonzaleze@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5350

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