Terence Blanchard Group

PERFORMANCE GUIDE

Cuesheet

TERENCE BLANCHARD

GROUP A

PERFORMANCE

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DEMONSTRATION

Meet Blue Note artist Terence Blanchard, a multi-Grammy Award®–winning jazz trumpeter, bandleader, arranger, and composer.

Jazz is a form of music through which an artist’s individual style clearly emerges and Terence Blanchard’s work is a good example. Get to know his unique sound as he, along with members of his ensemble, introduce the fundamentals of jazz improvisation, composition, and structure. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn the art of active listening and how to interpret jazz music.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Terence Blanchard developed his passion for music at an early age. He began playing the piano at age five, later switching to the trumpet at age eight. His musical studies began in high school at the famed New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, and continued into college at Rutgers University.

Known for his exciting live performances, Blanchard is also a renowned film-score and soundtrack composer.

He’s worked with numerous directors including, Spike Lee and George Lucas. In addition to nearly 50 film and television scores, you can also hear his work on Broadway and opera stages.

PHOTO BY NITIN VANDUKUL

Strongly committed to music education, the bandleader served as the artistic director of the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz from 2000 to 2010. In 2011, he became the artistic director of the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music’s Henri Mancini Institute.

Blanchard is joined by band members Fabian Almazan (piano), Brice Winston (saxophone), Kendrick Scott (percussion), Joshua Crumbly (bass), and Lionel Loueke (guitar).

PHOTO BY VINCENT ISOLA

In Disney’s 2009 film The Princess and the Frog, Blanchard can be heard playing all of Louis the alligator’s trumpet parts. He also voiced the role of Earl, the riverboat bandleader.

JAZZ: AN EVOLVING ART FORM Jazz is a truly American musical form— and many people consider it one of America’s best contributions to the world of music. Jazz first emerged about 100 years ago in the American South, most distinctly in New Orleans, Louisiana. This seaport city served as home to people of African, French, English, Caribbean, and other backgrounds. It also became a melting pot for music from these many traditions. African American musicians fused elements of ragtime, blues, classical, and big brass band sounds to create this distinct new type of music.

After the first jazz recordings were made in 1917, jazz spread across the nation.

It evolved over decades, helped along by influential musicians. In the 1920s, trumpeter Louis Armstrong introduced improvised solos and Duke Ellington popularized big band jazz; in the 1930s, people began dancing to jazz music, thanks to the upbeat sounds of Benny Goodman’s and Count Basie’s swing music. Charlie Parker’s groundbreaking bebop of the 1940s led to Miles Davis’ complex “cool” style in the 1950s. Jazz moved into the 1960s with pioneers like John Coltrane and his modal jazz; the next decades brought more change— from fusion, which brought together multiple styles, to the neo-classical leanings of Wynton Marsalis and other “young lions.” Jazz continues to evolve today—building on its vast legacy of innovation and experimentation.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM In this session, the Terence Blanchard Group performs music that helps introduce the fundamentals of jazz. One of the major jazz styles you will explore is known as hard bop.

Hard bop developed in the 1950s as an extension of bebop—a complex, artistic style of jazz that features fast tempos and improvisations based on changing harmonic patterns rather than melodic lines. Hard bop also incorporates influences from the blues, historically developed for emotional expression and release by enslaved Africans and their descendants in the American South.

This musical style was originally rooted in traditional West African music and culture.

BLUE NOTE RECORDS Even though he was already successful in the music world, Blanchard’s career soared to a new level of excellence after signing with Blue Note Records in 2003. For 75 years and counting, Blue Note has put the recording of innovative, authentic, uncompromising jazz above other measures of success. The iconic label’s formula has gathered innovators—such as Blanchard—and encouraged them to take their music to new places in the studio.

THE LANGUAGE OF JAZZ Here are some jazz terms you should know…

Arrangement An adaptation of a piece of music for performance in a different way, especially on different instruments for which it was originally composed Fusion The blending of jazz with other musical styles Harmony Two or more notes played together that create a compatible or pleasant sound Improvisation Creating music or song spontaneously, a technique that requires great musical skill and creativity Melody The tune of a piece of music created by a series of notes; most often recognizable as the main tune you hum or sing along with in a musical work Rhythm A strong, repeated pattern of sound Soloing When a musician improvises by elaborating on the music’s melody and harmony in their own personal style Syncopation Stressing a note in an unexpected place, between beats, or on a weak beat

David M. Rubenstein Chairman Michael M. Kaiser President Darrell M. Ayers Vice President, Education and Jazz Programming Jason Moran Artistic Advisor for Jazz Additional support for Performances for Young Audiences is provided by The Clark Charitable Foundation; Kaplan,Inc.; Mr. James V. Kimsey; The Macy’s Foundation; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Park Foundation, Inc.; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; an endowment from the Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation; U.S. Department of Education; Washington Gas; and by generous contributors to the Abe Fortas Memorial Fund and by a major gift to the fund from the late Carolyn E. Agger, widow of Abe Fortas.

Major support for the Kennedy Center’s educational programs is provided by David and Alice Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Education and related artistic programs are made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts and the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts.

WPFW 89.3 FM is a media partner of Kennedy Center Jazz.

www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org Cuesheets are produced by ARTSEDGE, an education program of the Kennedy Center.

Learn more about education at The Kennedy Center at www.kennedy-center.org/education The contents of this Cuesheet have been developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education and do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education. You should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. © 2014 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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