For more than three decades, Grammy-winning composer and performer Terence Blanchard has been an integral part of the films of Spike Lee. Since 1991, when they first collaborated on Jungle Fever, Lee and Blanchard have worked on 15 films together, culminating in Oscar nominations for Blanchard鈥檚 scores of Lee鈥檚 most recent releases, BlacKKKlansman (2018) and Da 5 Bloods (2020).
Like the many films that John Williams has scored for Steven Spielberg, the essence of Spike Lee鈥檚 singular cinematic vision is inextricably linked to Blanchard鈥檚 original music. So it鈥檚 no surprise that their long working relationship is the centerpiece of
The Movie Music of Terence Blanchard, a one-night-only event at David Geffen Hall on January 28. Conductor Thomas Wilkins will lead the New York Philharmonic and two vocal soloists, while Blanchard himself will be playing the trumpet with his own quintet, The E Collective, which also includes Charles Altura on guitar, Fabian Almazan on piano, David Ginyard on bass, and Oscar Seaton on drums.
The evening will undoubtedly cover the wide range of the music that Blanchard has written for Lee鈥檚 films, which have encompassed subjects as varied as the Oscar-nominated biopic, Malcolm X (1993); an adaptation of Richard Price鈥檚
novel, Clockers (1995); and a drama about four Buffalo Soldiers stationed in Italy during World War II, Miracle at St. Anna (2008).
The Movie Music of Terence Blanchard is one of many events that have been held at Lincoln Center over the past year as part of its first-ever cross- campus exploration of a single artist, See Me as I Am: Lincoln Center鈥檚 Year- Long Celebration of Terence Blanchard. Shanta Thake, Ehrenkranz Chief Artistic Officer of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, said, 鈥淭erence is the true embodiment of a multidisciplinary artist and creator, and we are thrilled to be coming together as a campus to center this incredible artist in such a unique way."
Blanchard already had a deep relationship with Jazz at Lincoln Center鈥攚hich will be presenting a career retrospective of Blanchard鈥檚 jazz music on March 1 and 2 at the Rose Theater that includes special guests Benny Green, Christian McBride, and Ben Wendel鈥攁s well as the Metropolitan Opera, which opened its 2021鈥�22 season with Fire Shut Up in My Bones, the first opera by a Black composer to premiere at the Met.
And See Me as I Am has already featured several presentations by Lincoln Center constituents, showing the remarkable breadth of Blanchard鈥檚 musical achievements. He returned to the Met last spring for his opera, Champion, and Film at Lincoln Center screened films for which he contributed the music, including Eve鈥檚 Bayou (1997) and Love and Basketball (2000). Last month, as part of its New Dances: Edition 2023, The Juilliard School presented I Dare 鈥� You, a world premiere choreographed by Hope Boykin to Blanchard鈥檚 鈥淚 Dare You鈥� from his 2021 album Absence, which was conceived as a tribute to Blanchard鈥檚 mentor, Wayne Shorter.
In October, Alice Tully Hall hosted the program Island Prayers, a multi- composer extravaganza in which the adventurous Turtle Island Quartet played New York premieres of works co-commissioned by Lincoln Center by the quartet鈥檚 founder, violinist David Balakrishnan; Rhiannon Giddens; Jerod Impichchaachaaha鈥� Tate; and Blanchard himself, who composed Turtle Trajectory for the quartet鈥檚 performance.
鈥淚鈥檓 overjoyed at the idea of bringing all of my musical experiences together to make one statement about the importance of human connection,鈥� Blanchard said when See Me as I Am was first announced. 鈥淓very part of this residency reflects how much I love music on a broader level鈥擨 can鈥檛 help but feel blessed with how I鈥檝e been to be able to spread my wings.鈥�
