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 on March 13, 1962, is a famous American jazz trumpeter and composer. He has written music for more than 80 movies and TV shows. He has also created two operas.

Blanchard has been nominated for two Academy Awards for his music in the movies BlacKkKlansman (2018) and Da 5 Bloods. Both films were directed by Spike Lee, who often works with Blanchard.

Terence Blanchard started his music journey in 1980. He played in the Lionel Hampton Orchestra while studying jazz at Rutgers University. In 1982, just before he turned 20, he joined The Jazz Messengers. This started his amazing professional career, which has now lasted for over 40 years!

In 2021, the Metropolitan Opera in New York performed Blanchard's opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones. This was a very special moment because it was the first opera by an African American composer ever performed there.

Blanchard also loves to teach and help young musicians. From 2000 to 2011, he was the artistic director of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Later, he became an artistic director at the Henry Mancini Institute at the University of Miami. He also taught jazz at the Berklee College of Music. In 2019, he joined the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as a special professor in Jazz Studies. In 2023, he became the Executive Artistic Director at SFJAZZ, guiding their creative programs.

In 2024, Blanchard was chosen as a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master. This is one of the biggest honors in jazz music. Famous musicians like Herbie Hancock and Sonny Rollins have also received this award.

Early Life and Music Beginnings

Terence Blanchard was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the only child of Wilhelmina and Joseph Oliver Blanchard. His dad worked at an insurance company and also sang opera.

Terence started playing piano when he was five. He then picked up the trumpet at age eight after hearing another trumpet player named Alvin Alcorn. He played trumpet with his childhood friends Wynton Marsalis and Branford Marsalis at summer music camps.

In high school, he studied at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. His teachers included Roger Dickerson and Ellis Marsalis. Ellis Marsalis wanted Terence to become a piano player. From 1980 to 1982, he studied at Rutgers University.

Blanchard's Music Career

The Jazz Messengers in 1985, with Terence Blanchard (second from left).

While at Rutgers University, Blanchard started touring with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. In 1982, Wynton Marsalis suggested Blanchard take his place in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers band. Blakey then made Blanchard the band's music director. Blanchard and his friend Donald Harrison toured a lot and recorded five albums with this famous band.

In 1986, Blanchard and Harrison left the Jazz Messengers. They started their own group with young talented musicians like Cyrus Chestnut and Rodney Whitaker. This group inspired many new jazz musicians.

In 1989, Blanchard took a break from performing to improve his trumpet playing. A year later, he started his solo career. His first album, Terence Blanchard, became very popular. It reached No. 3 on the Billboard Jazz chart.

Music for Movies and TV

Terence Blanchard has worked a lot with director Spike Lee. He played on the soundtracks for Lee's movies like Do the Right Thing (1989) and Mo' Better Blues (1990). Then, Lee hired Blanchard to write the full music score for Jungle Fever (1991). Since then, Blanchard has composed music for most of Spike Lee's films. These include Malcolm X (1992), Clockers (1995), and Inside Man (2006). He also scored BlacKkKlansman (2018) and Da 5 Bloods (2020), which earned him Academy Award nominations.

In 2006, Blanchard composed the music for Spike Lee's HBO documentary about Hurricane Katrina. It was called When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts. Blanchard also appeared in the film with his mother. They looked for her home, which was destroyed by the hurricane. A year later, he released an album called A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina). This album won a Grammy Award in 2008.

Blanchard has also written music for other directors. These include Gina Prince-Bythewood and Regina King. Entertainment Weekly magazine said that Blanchard is "central to a general resurgence of jazz composition for film."

Award-Winning Albums

Blanchard recorded several albums that won awards for Columbia Records. These include Simply Stated (1992) and The Malcolm X Jazz Suite (1993). His album The Heart Speaks (1996) was nominated for a Grammy Award.

In 1999, Blanchard signed with Sony Classical. He released Jazz In Film, which brought him back together with Donald Harrison. This album also featured jazz legends Joe Henderson and Kenny Kirkland.

His next album, Wandering Moon (2000), earned him another Grammy nomination. Downbeat Magazine also named him Artist of the Year.

In 2001, Blanchard released Let's Get Lost. This album featured classic songs sung by guest vocalists like Diana Krall and Dianne Reeves. His instrumental version of "Lost In A Fog" earned him another Grammy nomination.

In 2003, Blanchard joined Blue Note Records. He released Bounce. Two years later, famous pianist Herbie Hancock produced Flow, which received two more Grammy nominations.

Blanchard also played on McCoy Tyner's album Illuminations. This album won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.

Disney and Opera History

In Disney's 2009 movie The Princess and the Frog, Blanchard played all the trumpet parts for the alligator character, Louis. He also voiced the character Earl, the bandleader on the riverboat. Fifteen years later, Blanchard helped create music for the new theme park ride, Tiana's Bayou Adventure, inspired by the movie.

Terence Blanchard made history in 2021. His opera Fire Shut Up in My Bones was the first opera by a Black composer to be performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. It opened their 2021–22 season. A year later, the Met performed another of his operas, Champion. This was the first time in many years that a living composer had two operas premiere in a row at the Met.

Helping Young Musicians

In 2000, Terence Blanchard became the artistic director of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz at the University of California Los Angeles. This school offers a special two-year master's program for a small number of students.

As artistic director, Blanchard helped students with their music. He taught them about composing and how to build a career in music. He also led workshops and helped with community programs. He said he wanted to give back to the jazz community. He always felt that if he wasn't a musician, he would be a teacher.

In 2007, the Institute moved its program to Loyola University New Orleans. Blanchard strongly supported this move. He said, "After Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was shaken. Its musical roots were in danger. I grew up here and learned jazz at Loyola. I know the Institute will help jazz and our communities grow again."

Other Projects and Awards

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

In 2007, the Monterey Jazz Festival named Blanchard their Artist-In-Residence. They called him "one of his generation’s most artistic and innovative artists." He also supported jazz education. In 2008, the Monterey Jazz Festival 50th Anniversary Band, with Blanchard on trumpet, toured the United States.

In December 2007, the Terence Blanchard Quintet performed music from Spike Lee's movies. They played with an orchestra and singers at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

On February 10, 2008, Blanchard won his first Grammy Award as a bandleader. This was for his album A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina). He had also won two other Grammy Awards earlier as a sideman (playing with other artists).

In 2012, Blanchard composed the music for the film Red Tails. This was his first time working with executive producer George Lucas. He also wrote music for the Broadway play A Streetcar Named Desire in 2012.

He released the album Magnetic in 2013. In 2015, he released Breathless with his new band, The E-Collective. This album was inspired by the death of Eric Garner and the "I Can't Breathe" campaign.

In 2019, Blanchard performed with Lady Gaga at her Jazz and Piano show in Las Vegas.

Blanchard's Operas

On June 15, 2013, Blanchard's first opera, Champion, premiered. It was performed at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. The opera tells the story of boxer Emile Griffith. Champion later premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 2023. It won a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording.

On June 15, 2019, Blanchard's second opera, Fire Shut Up in My Bones, premiered. This opera is based on a book by Charles Blow. It was performed at the Metropolitan Opera in 2021. This made Blanchard the first Black composer to have an opera performed at the Metropolitan Opera.

Discography

As a Bandleader

This is a list of albums where Terence Blanchard was the main artist.

As a Sideman

Terence Blanchard has also played on albums for other artists:

• With Art Blakey: Oh-By the Way (1982), New York Scene (1984), Blue Night (1985)
• With Cedar Walton: As Long as There's Music (1993), Roots (1997)
• With Joanne Brackeen: Fi-Fi Goes to Heaven (1987)
• With Terri Lyne Carrington: Jazz Is a Spirit (2002)
• With Robert Glasper: Double-Booked (2009)
• With Benny Green: Prelude (1988)
• With Ralph Moore: Images (1989)
• With Gregory Porter: Nat King Cole & Me (2017)

Filmography

Here are some of the movies and TV shows Terence Blanchard has composed music for:

Movies

Television Shows

Awards and Honors

Terence Blanchard has won many awards, including five Grammy Awards. He has also been nominated for two Academy Award for Best Original Score for his music in BlacKkKlansman (2018) and Da 5 Bloods (2020). He has also received nominations for a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.

See also

In Spanish: Terence Blanchard para niños