The Terence Blanchard Group | Choices | TheUrbanMusicScene.com

The Terence Blanchard Group – Choices

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For those who have had the opportunity to interact with Terence Blanchard -the bandleader, including his current band The Terence Blanchard Group, they will probably testify he inspires wise choices for the sake of musical art. As one of the most sought after film scorers with fifty soundtracks to his credit, Blanchard knows firsthand how to choose the appropriate mood to enhance the film’s premise. He has earned the ultimate respect through the years as an educator of master music classes and as artistic director of The Thelonious Monk Institute by inspiring another generation of students who, like Blanchard, choose to create their unique musical canvas. These are just a few of the exceptional accomplishments in Blanchard’s near three-decade resume that all should be worthy of a Kennedy Center Honor in the near future; not too shabby for someone who is three years shy of fifty. Once Blanchard chose to pursue his musical studies with the encouragement of his father, top-notch musicians and teachers were strategically placed in his path.

Many of Blanchard’s figures in his musical journey came from a major metropolis which was known for its jazz and blues culture. The New Orleans born musician/composer grew up listening to jazz greats like Louis Armstrong. One of Blanchard’s teachers at the New Orleans Center of Creative Arts came from Ellis Marsalis, the father of one of the Crescent City’s famous jazz families. If that was not good company, then imagine having the honor to play with another jazz institution: Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers. This opportunity was so enriching, Blanchard ended up leaving Rutgers University in the midst of his classical music studies. He eventually formed a bandleader partnership with fellow Jazz Messenger and New Orleans native Donald Harrison in the mid-eighties. After the duo split, Blanchard’s solo career skyrocketed, including his longtime association with Spike Lee as a film composer.

With the demands between films and band leading, Blanchard kept a busy schedule from coast to coast. When Katrina hit New Orleans, he chose to invest more time back to his birthplace as he felt strongly motivated in keeping the city’s musical roots alive. He eventually relocated the Monk Institute from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles to Loyola University in New Orleans. He also utilized his film scoring gifts with a breathtaking musical perspective on the infamous storm by crafting A Tale of God’s Will (Requiem for Katrina) – a companion piece to Lee’s documentary, When The Levees Broke. With an impressive list of film scores and discography spanning almost three decades, this 2007 Grammy winner was a masterpiece that captured the roller coaster emotions surrounding the Katrina devastation.

For his latest disc Choices, Blanchard chose another hometown institution for his recording studio: The Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Before piecing material for his latest epic concept project, Blanchard consulted with long-time friend Herbie Hancock to ask how he renders choices for his recordings. Remembering that Hancock mentioned music’s overall purpose is to bring people together, Blanchard ran with the idea of how people can choose to influence a whole community and in controlling their own circumstances. Besides the current band members who are all strong composers in their own right: Walter Smith III, Fabian Almazan, Derrick Hodge and Kendrick Scott, activist/scholar Dr. Cornell West drops his philosophic perspectives on the undeniable power of choice. Blanchard’s protégé and Monk Institute graduate Lionel Loueke, the African born guitarist, provides a quiet edge with his soothing colors and fluid soloing to the quintet’s improvisational explorations. Completing this complex modern jazz painting is neo-soul stylist Bilal, an immense fan of the jazz genre and Blanchard’s work, who lends his rich soulful tenor on two tracks.

With one thorough listen to this Concord Music disc, I was undoubtedly impressed with the depth of Blanchard and his group’s musical presentation behind the running subject matter of choices. In comparisons to the more somber tone of Tale of God’s Will, Choices tends to lean in a more upbeat direction. There are still the reflective moments that continue to explore the deep emotions expressed throughout the Katrina tragedy including gentle acoustic bass passages from Hodge that caresses throughout “D’s Choice.” Blanchard’s acoustic arrangement of Bilal’s edgy R&B flavored composition “When Will You Call” actually clicks because of the duo’s musical rapport. The New Orleans bounce that sparks “A New World” is another clear-cut winner. “Him or Me” sends be-bop shivers down ones spine, especially with Blanchard and Smith’s crisp solos. Cuban pianist Almazan induces some of his culture’s rhythmic overtones on “HUGS.” Yet the thread that holds Choices together is Dr. West’s eight minutes of spoken contributions, including a brief tribute to the contributions of all jazz musicians (“Jazz Man in the World of Ideas”). Besides his philosophic contributions, his eloquent execution and impeccable timing clearly accentuates his understanding of the jazz language.

The aforementioned tracks are the main highlights, but overall Choices is vintage Blanchard. To prove how Blanchard still attracts cream of the crop musicians to his working bands, the current lineup all consists of members who are half of Blanchard’s age but still exemplify a musical maturity. Who knows? These young lions could become filmmakers and educators in waiting. Yet for now, Blanchard and company all make Choices well worth the listening experience.

Peggy Oliver

The Urban Music Scene