Terence Blanchard©Andrea Canter

“He plays the most coolly expressive trumpet in jazz, transmuting the instrument’s repertoire of smears, growls, peeps, and blasts into an astonishingly fluid language both luxurious and controlled.” -- Vanity Fair 

Few jazz musicians have received both Grammy and Golden Globe nominations. Trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard’s resume also includes tenure with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers and scoring films for Spike Lee, as well as a long list of acclaimed recordings, including his new, Grammy-winning requiem for Hurricane Katrina, A Tale of God’s Will. DownBeat Artist of the Year in 2000, now Artistic Director for the Thelonious Monk Institute in New Orleans and Honorary Artist in Residence for the 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival, Blanchard leads his Quintet through a program highlighting jazz in film at Minnesota Orchestra Hall on July 31st at 7:30 pm. Sommerfest Director Andrew Litton will serve as host and conductor for a program that will also include the full Minnesota Orchestra and selections from A Tale of God’s Will.

Fabian Almazan©Andrea Canter

Born in New Orleans 45 years ago, Terence Blanchard began playing piano at age 5, adding trumpet a few years later after hearing a band visiting his elementary school. His father, a part-time opera singer, encouraged his son “to practice the piano every day, right next to the window, while the other kids were outside playing ball,'' he called in a recent interview for the New York Times. In high school at the New Orleans Center of Creative Arts, Terence studied with Ellis Marsalis and Roger Dickerson, and was a classmate of saxophonist Donald Harrison. After graduation, he enrolled at Rutger’s University on a music scholarship, and soon was booked on a tour with Lionel Hampton. His big break came in 1983 when Wynton Marsalis recommended him as his replacement in Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Known for his mentoring and shaping of young talents, Blakey not only gave Blanchard his big start as a performer but served as a role model as bandleader and mentor, roles that Blanchard champions today.  

After two years with Blakey, Terence and former classmate/fellow Messenger Donald Harrison moved on to form their own quintet, earning the prestigious French Grand Prix du Disque for their 1984 recording, New York Second Line.  A few years later, Blanchard set off on his solo career. Living in New York until 1996, Blanchard had become acquainted with Spike Lee, for whom he would ultimately score a long list of films. “All those guys were living in my neighborhood,” said Spike Lee. “They had all moved up from New Orleans to Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Wynton was there, Branford was there, Terence was there, Donald Harrison. So my father, Bill Lee, managed to give these young jazz musicians some experience working on a film score.” The 1990 Grammy-nominated film was Mo’ Better Blues, starring Denzel Washington as a trumpeter. Blanchard played the trumpet parts as well as scoring the theme. “Terence has been doing my scores ever since,” said the younger Lee. 

Derrick Hodge©Andrea Canter

Performing and composing are not the only passions that Terence Blanchard brings to music. A devoted educator, he has served as Artistic Director of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, until this summer housed at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and now affiliated with Loyola University in Blanchard’s New Orleans. “It’s a means for us to give back to the community, and to have this continuing love affair with the city,” he said of the move. “…We’re taking something that has already worked, and bringing it here. It’s like putting a beautiful orchid in some seriously fertilized soil.” 

Kendrick Scott©Andrea Canter

Terence Blanchard and Brice Winston©Andrea Canter

The Terence Blanchard Quintet will give their impression of the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina on stage at Orchestra Hall, along with an evening of “Jazz at the Movies” on Thursday night, July 31st, 7:30 pm.   

Some tickets remain for this performance. Visit the Orchestra Hall website at www.minnesotaorchestra.org or call the Box Office at 612-371-5656 or 800-292-4141. For complete discography and touring information, visit Terence Blanchard’s website at www.terenceblanchard.com