Terence Blanchard: Bounce (2003)

The timing could not be better for Terrence Blanchard's Blue Note debut release, Bounce. At age 41, Terence Blanchard joins fellow label mates and friends who, like him, have matured into modern standard-bearers, each with their own take on jazz tradition and their own particular interests. With Bounce, Blanchard convenes a diverse group of talented young musicians, all of whom help highlight the many facets of his musical vision.

The music on Bounce doesn't stay in one place, and it exemplifies Blanchard's style, which prompted People Magazine to comment: "Blanchard's virtues spring from his sense of restraint. The joy is in the tease!"

Blanchard has had successes in film music, orchestras and education, and of course as a jazz musician and bandleader. "Nothing can beat being a jazz musician, playing a club, playing a concert," he says. "When I stood next to Sonny Rollins at Carnegie Hall and listened to him play, that was it for me."

Tracklist:

1 On the Verge Parks [8:43]

2 Passionate Courage Blanchard [6:32]
3 Fred Brown Blanchard [7:42]
4 Nocturna Lins, Llns, Martins [7:33]
5 Azania Blanchard [6:04]
6 Footprints Shorter [7:31]
7 Transform Harland [9:00]
8 Innocence Owens [7:23]
9 Bounce/Let's Go Off Blanchard, Harrison [7:06]

Personnel: Terence Blanchard- Trumpet; Brice Winston: Tenor & Soprano Saxophone; Lionel Loueke: Guitar & Vocals; Robert Glasper: Hammond -3 & Fender Rhodes; Aaron Parks: Piano; Brandon Owens: Bass; Eric Harland: Drums

Bounce

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Terri Lyne Carrington: Jazz is a Spirit (2002)

In the male-dominated jazz genre, this veteran drummer has been happily accepted as one of the guys and has forged a strong touring career (Al Jarreau, David Sanborn) as she has, on her solo projects, pushed the improvisational and conceptual boundaries. This free-spirited recording emerges from the fun of bebop and traditional jazz balladry into the more challenging realm of tribal rhythms and global-mindedness a wacky journey to be sure, but true to her heart of wanderlust and her contention that, indeed, jazz can only be defined as a spirit. She opens with a weird, mystical ambience behind Cosby Show kid Malcolm Jamal Warner's spoken-word definition, then jams in a live setting with longtime associates like Herbie Hancock, Terence Blanchard, and Paul Bollenback (guitar) on tunes that range from the avant-garde ("Little Jump") to the smoky and romantic ("Samsara," a thoughtful tribute to Wayne Shorter). Throwing off the shackles, she does a long tribal drum roll piece and opens the door for a "Journey East From West" with Kevin Eubanks. "Journey of Now" combines the best of all worlds, with Wallace Roney's traditional trumpet, Jeff Richman's fusion guitar edges, and an irrepressible percussive tribalism. The remaining tracks are a balance between measured craziness and gentle tradition, with a bit of advice offered to Terri Lyne Carrington as she plays before the spoken words of Papa Jo Jones on "Mr. Jo Jones." Innovative yet sometimes maddening, this is above all else her truest heart.

Tracklist:
01. Jazz Is
02. Little Jump
03. The Corner
04. Lost Star
05. Samsara (for Wayne)
06. Journey Agent
07. Journey East from West
08. Journey of Now
09. Giggles
10. Middle Way
11. Princess
12. Witch Hunt
13. Mr. Jo Jones
14. Jazz is a Spirit
Personnel:
Terri Lyne Carrington - drums
Herbie Hancock - piano
Greg Kurstin - piano
Gary Thomas - saxophones
Wallace Roney - trumpet
Terence Blanchard - trumpet
Kevin Eubanks - guitar
Paul Bollenback - guitar
Jeff Richman - guitar
Danny Robinson - guitar
Bob Hurst - bass
Malcolm-Jamal Warner - bass & spoken word
Katisse Buckingham - soprano saxophone
Ed Barguiarena - percussion
Darryl “Munyungo” Jackson - percussion
Jazz Is a Spirit
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Terence Blanchard: Let's Get Lost (2001)

Entertainment Weekly (6/8/01, p.77) - "One of jazz's trumpeters-of-choice has settled on a ripe concept, with inviting tunes by great American songwriter Jimmy McHugh. Wisely, Blanchard calls on several fine singers..." - Rating: B+

CMJ (6/11/01, p.23) - "...Thoughtful and reaching arrangements that simmer with the same blue flame that fueled Miles Davis' '50s work....This is a no-brainer for fans of vocal and traditional jazz."

Down Beat (8/01, pp.66-7) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...Blanchard's buttoned-down performance is consistently restrained and thoughtful....adroit and distinctive....with some attractive interpretive and sometimes idiosyncratic departures..."

Personnel: Terence Blanchard (trumpet); Diana Krall (vocals, piano); Jane Monheit, Dianne Reeves, Cassandra Wilson (vocals); Brice Winston (tenor saxophone); Edward Simon (piano); Derek Nievergelt (bass); Eric Harland (drums)

Tracklist:

1. Let's Get Lost — (with Diana Krall)

2. Too Young to Go Steady — (with Jane Monheit)
3. You're a Sweetheart
4. I Can't Believe That You're in Love With Me — (with Dianne Reeves)
5. I'm in the Mood For Love
6. Don't Blame Me — (with Cassandra Wilson)
7. I Can't Give You Anything But Love — (with Jane Monheit)
8. Exactly Like You
9. Can't Get Out of This Mood — (with Dianne Reeves)
10. Lost in a Fog
11. On the Sunny Side of the Street — (with Cassandra Wilson)
Let's Get Lost
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Chick Corea: Rendezvous in New York (2003) [2 cd]

One of Chick Corea's most ambitious projects was the recording of almost 60 hours of music with nine different groups over a three-week run at the Blue Note in December 2001; it must have been a challenge to choose the dozen performances for this two-CD set. The first disc begins with scat singer par excellence Bobby McFerrin joining the pianist to scat his way through three selections, including a stunning medley of an excerpt from Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez" and Corea's "Spain." Bassist Miroslav Vitous and ageless drummer Roy Haynes provide the pulse to his extended work "Matrix." Corea's well-crafted tribute to Bud Powell, with Terence Blanchard and Joshua Redman in the front line, combines two of Powell's greatest works, "Glass Enclosure" and "Tempus Fugit." But Corea is at his most lyrical when old friend Gary Burton joins him to revisit the pianist's masterpiece, the shimmering "Crystal Silence." The second disc is also full of great music, though disc one clearly gets the edge, with the possible exception of the virtuoso duo piano interpretation with Gonzalo Rubalcaba of the same medley performed with McFerrin on the first CD. It is safe to say that no fan of Chick Corea will be disappointed with this wide-ranging compilation of live music, and itis also a great starting point for those not familiar with his voluminous works. Highly recommended.

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Rendezvous (RS) / Rendezvous (HF) vbr

Terrence Blanchard: A Tale of God's Will (2007)

For all the anger and devastation trumpeter Terence Blanchard has felt in the months since Hurricane Katrina ravaged his hometown of New Orleans--and the federal government failed it so shamefully--this elegiac orchestral work is remarkably clear-eyed, restrained, and, in the end, hopeful. That isn't to say pieces like "Funeral Dirge" and "Levees" don't impart deep and dark emotion. But even with strings at their back, Blanchard and the members of his first-rate working quintet (all of whom contribute compositions) never indulge in sentimentality. Blanchard's debt to Miles Davis is pronounced in his pinched lyricism and the economy of his virtuosic effects. The richly hued work washes over the listener, revealing more with each playing. --Lloyd Sachs

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, New Orleans native son Terence Blanchard has created an impassioned song cycle, A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina), as his third album for Blue Note Records. (Since signing with the label in 2003, Blanchard has released two other critically-acclaimed albums, Bounce and Flow, the latter of which received two Grammy nominations in 2006. This 13-track emotional tour-de-force of anger, rage, compassion, melancholy, and beauty features Blanchard's quintet- pianist Aaron Parks, saxophonist Brice Winston, bassist Derrick Hodge, drummer Kendrick Scott- as well as a 40-member string orchestra.

An important jumpstart for A Tale of God's Will was director Spike Lee's decision to document the aftermath of Katrina on film, in what turned out to be the four-hour award-winning HBO documentary, When the Levees Broke, which aired last year. Lee, who has enlisted Blanchard on numerous occasions to score his films, such as Mo' Better Blues, Malcolm X, and Inside Man, tapped him once again for his documentary. Four of the tracks from the documentary were given new arrangements and expanded rounding out an album of nine new tracks inspired by New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina.
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Terence Blanchard: Wandering Moon (2000)

Terence Blanchard emerged as a young lion in the 1980s along with his New Orleans homeboy and fellow trumpeter, Wynton Marsalis. Blanchard released several recordings with Donald Harrison and scored a few soundtracks, including Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues and Malcolm X. This splendid album follows his film music tribute, Jazz in Film, and returns Blanchard to the straight-ahead fold. With an even singing and swinging tone, Blanchard is backed by drummer Eric Harland, pianist Ed Simon, and newcomer alto and tenor saxophonists Brice Winston and Aaron Fletcher. The legendary bassist Dave Holland anchors the bottom and ensures the grooves. Blanchard's melodically compelling compositions range from the mystical moods of "Luna Viajera" and "Sweet's Dream" (an elegy to the late trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison) to the uptempo "Sidney's Song" (for clarinetist Sidney Bechet), which recall's Blanchard's days with Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. On board for Wandering Moon is another Jazz Messenger alumnus, tenor saxophonist Branford Marsalis, who displays his Wayne Shorter/John Coltrane solo signature on the '60s-style tunes "If I Could, I Would," "My Only Thought of You," and "Joe & O." On the standard "I Thought About You," Blanchard takes center stage with an ebullient trumpet voice that rings from the silver screen to the bandstand. --Eugene Holley, Jr.

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Cannon Re-Loaded: All Stars Celebration of Cannonball Adderley (2008)

Cannon Re-Loaded is simply that: a collection of tunes closely associated with Cannonball Adderley interpreted by an all-star collection of players on the current scene, with bandleader Tom Scott (who co-produced with Gregg Field) on alto saxophone (an instrument he doesn't play that often anymore), trumpeter Terence Blanchard, pianist George Duke (who was actually a member of the Adderley quintet and who also plays Rhodes and Wurlitzer), drummer Steve Gadd, bassists Marcus Miller and Dave Carpenter, and Larry Goldings on the Hammond B-3. Vocalist Nancy Wilson also guests on a pair of cuts that reprise her performances with Adderley from the Nancy Wilson/Cannonball Adderley set released in 1962. In his liner notes, Scott claims Adderley as a major influence on his own playing, and that what he and his dream band wanted to convey was not only Adderley's brilliance as a musician, but also his sense of humor, one that welcomed the audience in to the music he made.There is no doubt that this quintet gets the tunes right. They open with "Jive Samba," move toward a fast-paced "Work Song," and then of course to "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" before Wilson joins the band for "Save Your Love for Me." The music has plenty of swing and groove, and it's tight. And maybe that's the problem. Adderley's best records (we could all argue forever about which records those were) had a sense of looseness and a vibe inherent in them that is lost on this group — with the exception of Duke, who uses his own sense of humor, percussive flair on the keys, and angular bits here and there to dress these jams up for the bandstand instead of the studio. The sound is so utterly pristine and shiny it contains none of that laid-back approach that made the Adderley groups so enjoyable.