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Biography
Infobox musical artist| name = Terence Blanchard| image = Terence Blanchard.jpg| caption = Blanchard at the 2007 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist| birth_date = birth date and age|1962|3|13| origin = New Orleans, Louisiana , United States|USA | death_date =| genre = Modern Jazz , Hard Bop | instrument = Trumpet Piano| occupation = musician bandleader composer arranger film score writer| years_active = 1980 & ndash; present| label = Blue Note Records|Blue Note (present) Sony Classical Columbia Records|Columbia | associated_acts = Art Blakey Donald Harrison Branford Marsalis Spike Lee Kasi Lemmons Terence Blanchard Quintet featuring Brice Winston Fabian Almazan Joshua Crumbly Kendrick Scott| website = http://www.terenceblanchard.com/ TerenceBlanchard.com Terence Oliver Blanchard (born March 13, 1962) is an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, arranger, and film score composer. Since he emerged on the scene in 1980 with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra and then shortly thereafter with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers , Blanchard has been a leading artist in jazz. He was an integral figure in the 1980s jazz resurgence having recorded several award-winning albums and having performed with the jazz elite.
He is known as a straight-ahead artist in the hard bop tradition but has recently utilized an African-fusion style of playing that makes him unique from other trumpeters on the performance circuit. However, it is as a film composer that Blanchard reaches his widest audience. His trumpet can be heard on nearly fifty film scores; more than forty bear his unmistakable compositional style. Since 2000, Blanchard has served as Artistic Director at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and as of August 2011 he was named the Artistic Director of the Henry Mancini Institute at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. He lives in the Garden District, New Orleans|Garden District of New Orleans with his wife and four children.
Life and career
Blanchard was born in New Orleans, Louisiana , the only child to parents Wilhelmina and Joseph Oliver Blanchard, a part-time opera singer and insurance company manager.cite web|url= http://www.filmreference.com/film/6/Terence-Blanchard.html |title=Terence Blanchard Biography (1962-) |publisher=Filmreference.com |date= |accessdate=2012-01-16 Blanchard began playing piano at the age of five and then the trumpet at age eight upon hearing Alvin Alcorn play. Blanchard played trumpet recreationally alongside childhood friend Wynton Marsalis in summer music camps but showed no real proficiency on the instrument. Then, while in high school, he began studying at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) under Roger Dickerson and Ellis Marsalis, Jr. . From 1980 to 1982, Blanchard studied under jazz saxophonist Paul Jeffrey and trumpeter Bill Fielder at Rutgers University , while touring with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. In 1982, Wynton Marsalis recommended Blanchard to replace him in Art Blakey|Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and until 1986, Blanchard was the band's trumpeter and musical director. With Blakey and as co-leader of a quintet with saxophonist Donald Harrison and pianist Mulgrew Miller , Blanchard rose to prominence as a key figure in the 1980s Jazz Resurgence. The Harrison/Blanchard group recorded five albums from 1984-1988 until Blanchard left to pursue a solo career in 1990."Magro, Anthony. "Contemporary Cat: Terence Blanchard with Special Guests", Scarecrow Press (2002)"
In the 1990s, after a laborious but successful embouchure change, Blanchard was as busy as ever. He recorded his self-titled debut for Columbia Records which reached third on the Billboard Jazz Charts. After performing on soundtracks for Spike Lee movies, including Do the Right Thing and '' Mo' Better Blues , Lee wanted Blanchard to compose the scores for his films beginning with " Jungle Fever " (1991). Blanchard has written the score for every Spike Lee film since including, Malcolm X , Clockers (film)|Clockers , Summer of Sam , 25th Hour , Inside Man ''. In 2006, he composed the score for Spike Lee's 4-hour Hurricane Katrina documentary for HBO entitled When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts . Blanchard also appeared in front of the camera with his mother to share their emotional journey back to find her home completely destroyed.
Blanchard has also composed for other directors, including Leon Ichaso , Ron Shelton and Kasi Lemmons . With over forty scores to his credit, Blanchard is the most prolific jazz musician to ever compose for movies. Entertainment Weekly proclaimed Blanchard "central to a general resurgence of jazz composition for film." Yet in a 1994 interview for Down Beat , Blanchard was quoted as saying, "Writing for film is fun, but nothing can beat being a jazz musician, playing a club, playing a concert". http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-musicians/blanchard-terence-biography enotes: Terence Blanchard
All the while, Blanchard has remained true to his jazz roots as a trumpeter and bandleader on the performance circuit. He has recorded several award-winning albums for Columbia, Sony Classical and Blue Note Records, including In My Solitude: The Billie Holiday Songbook (1994), Romantic Defiance (1995), The Heart Speaks (1996), Wandering Moon (2000), '' Let's Get Lost (album)|Let's Get Lost (2001) and Flow (Terence Blanchard album)|Flow (2005), which was produced by pianist Herbie Hancock and received two Grammy Award nominations.
Terence Blanchard's 2001 CD '' Let's Get Lost (album)|Let's Get Lost was his most commercially successful album to date. It features new arrangements of classic songs written by Jimmy McHugh and performed by his own quintet along with the leading ladies of jazz vocals: Diana Krall , Jane Monheit , Dianne Reeves , and Cassandra Wilson .
In 2005, Blanchard was part of the ensemble that won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for his participation on McCoy Tyner ’s Illuminations , an award he shared with Tyner, Gary Bartz , Christian McBride and Lewis Nash .
Blanchard was a judge for the 5th annual The Independent Music Awards|Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers. http://www.independentmusicawards.com/ima_new/pastjudges.asp Independent Music Awards - Past Judges In 2009 in the Disney movie, The Princess and the Frog , Blanchard played all of the alligator Louis’ trumpet parts. He also voiced the role of Earl the bandleader in the riverboat band.cite web|url= http://www.tribute.ca/news/index.php/the-princess-and-the-frog-fun-facts/2010/03/19/ |title=The Princess and the Frog: Fun Facts& #33; - Features |publisher=Tribute.ca |date= |accessdate=2012-01-16
Print biography
In December 2002, Scarecrow Press published Contemporary Cat: Terence Blanchard with Special Guests , an authorized biography of Blanchard written by Anthony Magro . The book is the 42nd title in the publisher's well-regarded "Series In Jazz" headed by editors Dan Morgenstern and Edward Berger.
"Written in an intimate, conversational style, Contemporary Cat: Terence Blanchard with Special Guests begins in the birthplace of jazz, Blanchard's hometown, New Orleans. His family and famous musician teachers speak of a disciplined youngster who matured alongside the Marsalis brothers and saxophonist Donald Harrison to become a leader in the important 1980s jazz resurgence." http://scarecrowpress.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml? command=Search& db=^DB/CATALOG.db& eqSKUdata=0810843234 Scarecrow Press
Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz
In the fall of 2000, Terence Blanchard was named artistic director of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at the University of Southern California . Herbie Hancock serves as chairman; Wayne Shorter , Clark Terry and Jimmy Heath sit on the board of trustees. The conservatory offers an intensive, tuition-free, two-year master's program to a limited number of students (only up to eight per every two years).
In his role as artistic director, Blanchard works with the students in the areas of artistic development, arranging, composition, and career counseling. He also participates in master classes and community outreach activities associated with the program. "Out of my desire to give something back to the jazz community, I wanted to get involved. In fact, I've always said that if I wasn't a musician, that I would like to be a teacher. So I was glad to get involved and to be a part of this unique program that fosters such an open and accessible environment."
In April 2007, the Institute announced its "Commitment to New Orleans" initiative which includes the relocation of the program to the campus of Loyola University New Orleans from Los Angeles. Blanchard had passionately lobbied the Institute to relocate saying, "After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was shaken and its musical roots were threatened. I grew up in this city and learned about jazz here at Loyola with other young jazz musicians like Wynton and Branford Marsalis and I know that the Institute will have a great impact on jazz and in our communities. We are going to work hard to help jazz and New Orleans flourish once again." http://www.jazzpolice.com/content/view/6857/79/ Jazz Police - The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Moves to New Orleans
Recognition
Grammy Awards
Career Wins: 5 http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx Grammy Awards list
2006 When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
2007 Talk to Me (2007 film)|Talk to Me
2008 Miracle at St. Anna *
2008 Cadillac Records
2010 Bunraku (film)|Bunraku
2012 Red Tails (film)|Red Tails
For further reading, including TV scores, see http://imdb.com/name/nm0005966/
Current news
On February 10, 2008, Blanchard won his first Grammy Award as a bandleader for '' A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina) in the category of Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. His two other Grammy Awards were as a sideman for Art Blakey (1984) and McCoy Tyner (2004).
In 2007, the Monterey Jazz Festival named Blanchard Artist-In-Residence, citing him as "one his generation’s most artistically mature and innovative artists and a committed supporter of jazz education." http://www.j-notes.com/archives/2007/02/18/monterey_jazz_festival_present.php Monterey Jazz Festival Presents Terence Blanchard Quintet Live in Concert The Monterey Jazz Festival 50th Anniversary Band featuring Blanchard on trumpet will make a 54-date, 10-week tour of the United States from January 8, 2008 to March 16, 2008. Rounding out the band will be saxophonist James Moody (saxophonist)|James Moody , pianist Benny Green (pianist)|Benny Green , bassist Derrick Hodge and drummer Kendrick Scott . The special ensemble will also feature jazz singer Nnenna Freelon .
In December 2007, the Terence Blanchard Quintet performed the movie music of Spike Lee and Terence Blanchard with an orchestra and singers Dee Dee Bridgewater , Kurt Elling , and Raul Midón at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm? fuseaction=showEvent& event=MIJPB Kennedy Center: The Movie Music of Spike Lee and Terence Blanchard
In November 2008 he was a guest on Private Passions , the biographical music discussion programme on BBC Radio 3 . http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/privatepassions/ BBC Radio 3
Blanchard composed original music for Stephen Adly Guirgis 's new Broadway play The Motherfucker With the Hat , which premiered at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on April 11, 2011. http://www.ibdb.com/production.php? id=489079 "The Motherf**ker with the Hat", ibdb.com, accessed 12 April 2011.name=NYT>citation |title = A Love Not at a Loss for Words |author=Ben Brantley |publisher=New York Times |date=11 April 2011 | accessdate = 2011-04-12 | url = http://theater.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/theater/reviews/the-with-the-hat-by-stephen-adly-guirgis-review.html citation | publisher = Variety | date = 11 April 2011 | title = The Motherfucker With the Hat | author = Marilyn Stasio | accessdate = 2011-04-12 | url = http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117945010 The show is described as "a high-octane verbal cage match about love, fidelity and misplaced haberdasher y."cite web|last=News Staff|title=The Motherf**ker With the Hat, Starring Chris Rock, Moves Forward First Preview|url= http://www.broadway.com/shows/motherfker-hat/buzz/154585/the-motherfker-with-the-hat-starring-chris-rock-moves-forward-first-preview/|work=Broadway.com|accessdate=12 April 2011|date=December 9, 2010
On January 20th, 2012 Red Tails (film)|Red Tails was released nationwide in the United States. Blanchard served as the composer of the original score, marking the first time he has worked with executive producer George Lucas .
He composed incidental music for the 2012 Broadway revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire".
References
Reflist|2
Further reading
Magro, Anthony. Contemporary Cat: Terence Blanchard with Special Guests , Scarecrow Press (2002) - ISBN 0-8108-4323-4
Yanow, Scott. Trumpet Kings: The Players Who Shaped the Sound of Jazz Trumpet , Backbeat Books (2002) - ISBN 0-87930-608-4
External links
Portal|Biography
http://www.terenceblanchard.com/ Terence Blanchard's official website
http://www.bluesandsoul.com/feature/477/the_terence_blanchard_group_the_right_ch.../ Terence Blanchard interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' November 2009
http://www.scarecrowpress.com/Catalog/SingleBook.shtml? command=Search& db=^DB/CATALOG.db& eqSKUdata=0810843234 Magro, Anthony. "Contemporary Cat: Terence Blanchard with Special Guests", Scarecrow Press (2002)
Allmusic|class=artist|id=p56958/charts-awards|pure_url=yes Billboard Chart History for Terence Blanchard
http://www.artistshousemusic.org/videos/terence+blanchard Interview with Terence Blanchard
Persondata | NAME = Blanchard, Terence | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = March 13, 1962 | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Blanchard, Terence Category:1962 births Category:African American musicians Category:American film score composers Category:American jazz composers Category:American jazz trumpeters Category:Blue Note Records artists Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hard bop trumpeters Category:Jazz musicians from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Living people Category:Mainstream jazz trumpeters Category:Modal jazz trumpeters Category:People from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Post-bop trumpeters
