The Ray Brown Trio is appearing this weekend at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild.

Or, perhaps more accurately, the Ray Brown Tribute Band -- comprising pianist Benny Green, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Greg Hutchinson -- is performing the customary five shows there, and in the process hopes the spirit of its late mentor, an alumnus of Schenley High School, shows up.

"We play the old Ray Brown songbook," McBride says. "We will become the Ray Brown Trio -- which puts me in the hot seat."

The band gets its moniker honestly.

"After Ray Brown died [in 2002], a bunch of his ... what we called his family members decided that Ray was such [an influential] band leader that we tried to keep something going -- do a couple of concerts a year," McBride says. "Because of everybody's schedule, it doesn't really happen too often. When we can, we do these trio gigs."

Among those "family members," in addition to the trio performing at the Guild this weekend, are pianists Monty Alexander and Geoffrey Keezer, guitarist Russell Malone, drummer Karriem Riggins and vocalists Dee Dee Bridgewater and Marlena Shaw.

McBride, a Philadelphia native who followed in the footsteps of his father and great-uncle, themselves bassists, eventually moved to New York and hooked up with Green, doing a number of duo gigs.

One night in early 1991 their manager invited Brown, an acquaintance, to hear them play -- which caused just a little consternation.

"We knew that he had been working all night," McBride says. After a gig, "the last thing you want to do is hear more music."

No need to worry. Brown, probably best known for performing for 15 years with the Oscar Peterson Trio, apparently liked what he heard.

"As fate would have it, he hired Benny to replace Gene Harris in his trio and six months later formed Superbass," which included Brown, McBride and fellow bassist John Clayton. Looking back, McBride admits, "Ray was definitely my second father."

McBride says audiences will hear a number of Brown's favorite tunes that he played on the stand, such as Count Basie's "Li'l Darlin'," "Milestones" and, perhaps, a medley of Duke Ellington compositions.

McBride also fronts his own namesake band in which he plays a lot of electric bass, but he won't be bringing that along for this gig.

Playing straight-ahead jazz "is the equivalent of coming home to Mom -- you go home, she gives you the Mom inspection."