Terence Blanchard facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Terence Blanchard
Blanchard performing in July 2008
Background information
Birth name	Terence Oliver Blanchard
Born	(1962-03-13) March 13, 1962 (age 63) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician composer conductor arranger orchestrator
Instruments	Trumpet piano keyboards
Years active	1980–present
Labels	Blue Note Sony Classical Columbia
Associated acts	Art Blakey, Donald Harrison, Branford Marsalis, Bill Lee
Signature

Terence Oliver Blanchard (born March 13, 1962) is a famous American jazz trumpeter and composer. A composer is someone who writes music. Blanchard has written music for over 80 movies and TV shows, as well as two operas. He often works with the director Spike Lee. For his work on Lee's films BlacKkKlansman (2018) and Da 5 Bloods (2020), he was nominated for two Academy Awards.

Blanchard's career began in 1980. He played in the Lionel Hampton Orchestra while he was a student at Rutgers University. In 1982, he joined the famous jazz group The Jazz Messengers. This was the start of a long and successful career.

In 2021, Blanchard made history. His opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones was performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. It was the first opera by an African American composer ever to be staged there.

Besides making music, Blanchard loves to teach. He has been an artistic director at several music institutes, helping young musicians learn and grow. In 2023, he became the Executive Artistic Director for SFJAZZ, where he helps plan all the musical performances.

Early Life and Education

Terence Blanchard was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the only child of Wilhelmina and Joseph Oliver Blanchard. His father was an insurance company manager who also loved to sing opera.

Blanchard started playing the piano when he was five years old. When he was eight, he heard the trumpeter Alvin Alcorn play at his school and was inspired to switch to the trumpet. As a kid, he went to summer music camps with his friends, Wynton Marsalis and Branford Marsalis, who also became famous jazz musicians.

He studied at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, a special high school for students talented in the arts. There, he learned from great teachers like Ellis Marsalis. After high school, he went to Rutgers University to study jazz.

Music Career

The Jazz Messengers in 1985. From left: Jean Toussaint, Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison, and Lonnie Plaxico.

While still in college, Blanchard began touring with a professional band. In 1982, Wynton Marsalis suggested that Blanchard take his place in Art Blakey's famous band, the Jazz Messengers. Soon, Blanchard became the band's musical director. He toured the world and recorded five albums with the group.

In 1986, Blanchard and his friend Donald Harrison left the Jazz Messengers to start their own band. A year later, Blanchard launched his solo career. His first album was a big hit on the Billboard Jazz chart.

Writing Music for Movies

Blanchard first played trumpet on the soundtracks for Spike Lee's movies Do the Right Thing (1989) and Mo' Better Blues (1990). Lee was so impressed that he asked Blanchard to write the entire score for his next film, Jungle Fever (1991). A score is all the background music in a movie.

Since then, Blanchard has written the music for most of Spike Lee's films. Some of these include Malcolm X (1992), Inside Man (2006), and BlacKkKlansman (2018). He has also written music for other famous directors like Regina King and Kasi Lemmons.

Albums and Awards

Blanchard and his wife, Robin Burgess, at the 91st Academy Awards. Blanchard was nominated for Best Original Score for BlacKkKlansman.

Blanchard has recorded many successful albums. In 2006, he wrote the music for Spike Lee's documentary about Hurricane Katrina, called When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts. The film showed Blanchard and his mother looking for their family home, which was destroyed in the storm.

This experience inspired his album A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina). The album won a Grammy Award in 2008. Blanchard has won several Grammys throughout his career, both for his own albums and for his work with other artists.

His 2015 album, Breathless, was created with his band The E-Collective. The music was inspired by the "I Can't Breathe" movement, which spoke out against social injustice.

Work with Disney

In Disney's 2009 animated movie The Princess and the Frog, Blanchard played all the trumpet parts for the alligator character, Louis. He also had a small voice role in the film.

Years later, he was asked to create new music for the theme park ride Tiana's Bayou Adventure, which is based on the movie.

Operas and Stage Music

An opera is a play where the characters sing most of their lines, accompanied by an orchestra. Blanchard has written two successful operas.

His first opera, Champion, is about the life of boxer Emile Griffith. It premiered in 2013.

His second opera, Fire Shut Up in My Bones, premiered in 2019. It is based on the life story of writer Charles Blow. In 2021, it became the first opera by a Black composer to be performed at the famous Metropolitan Opera. This was a major moment in music history.

Blanchard has also written music for Broadway plays, including a 2012 production of A Streetcar Named Desire and the 2011 play The ... With the Hat.

Teaching and Mentoring

Blanchard is dedicated to helping the next generation of musicians. In 2000, he became the artistic director of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz, a special school that offers free, high-level training to talented young jazz players.

After Hurricane Katrina hit his hometown of New Orleans in 2005, Blanchard worked to move the institute there. He wanted to help the city's music scene recover. He said, "I grew up in this city... and I know that the Institute will have a great impact on jazz and in our communities."

Discography

This is a list of some of the jazz albums Blanchard has released as a bandleader.

Filmography

Here are some of the movies that feature a musical score by Terence Blanchard.

See also

In Spanish: Terence Blanchard para niños