Terence Blanchard
Jean Toussaint QuartetMonday 14th July - Wednesday 16th July
£25.00 - £40.00
Information on Terence Blanchard
A trumpeter of extraordinary talent and vision, since the 1980s Blanchard has established himself as one of the great modern exponents of his instrument.
His music is informed with a soul and musical passion that is very much his own, melding a traditional hard-bop style with a Southern, New Orleans bluesy sound.
It is his home town of New Orleans that has shaped much of his career of late - as well as scoring the soundtracks to several of director Spike Lee's films, including Mo' Better Blues, Malcolm X and Clockers, he provided the music for Lee's When The Levees Broke, a documentary on the devastation left behind by Hurricane Katrina.
Blanchard's own testament to the disaster is his own work, A Tale Of God's Will (A Requiem For Katrina), released in 2007. It won its composer a 2008 Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album (Blanchard's third such award) and marked him out as a definitive voice in the contemporary jazz world.
Support comes from the outstanding Jean Toussaint Quartet, fronted by the Berklee educated saxophonist who has been deservedly praised for his clarity, tonality and expressive, funky, bluesy style. He has worked extensively with some of the top names in jazz, including a stint with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, Horace Silver, Max Roach, Roy Ayers, Wynton Marsalis, McCoy Tyner and also with Terence Blanchard. These nights offer an excellent coupling of two truly great musical talents.
The Critics Sing Their Praises of Trumpeter/ Composer, Terence Blanchard
“[The musicians] are able to take these compositions and immediately translate them into the particular sound of Terence’s band, which in many ways reminds me of what used to happen with Miles.”
-Herbie Hancock
“Terence Blanchard scores the aftermath of Huricane Katrina with empathy and grace.” -Jazztimes
“His impressive new album for Blue Note [is] a purposeful convergence of his film-composer and jazz-musician identities... The result is a melancholy suite that feels both intensely personal and broadly cinematic.” -The New York Times
“Blanchard has crafted a stirring and soulful contemporary outing and one of the strongest albums of his distinguished career…Flow announces the maturation of a real band—now one of the fineston the scene.” -Jazztimes
“...Mr. Blanchard showed what a stunning trumpeter he can be...” -The New York Times
“Blanchard’s virtues spring from his sense of restraint. The joy is in the tease!” -People Magazine
“He plays the most coolly expressive trumpet in jazz, transmuting the instrument’s repertoire of smears, growls, peeps, and blasts into an astonishingly fluidlanguage both luxurious and controlled.” -Vanity Fair
“Bold, modern jazz that’s respectful of the tradition and served with style and emotion.” “…abundant talent. His writing is superb and heartfelt, his playing perfect…” -The Wall Street Journal
“…Blanchard is one of jazz’s best trumpeter’s…”
-The Philadelphia Daily News