A Native Son Lifts the First City of Jazz

Choices

Last September, while New Orleans native and award-winning jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard was out touring in support of his latest album Choices, he and his group stopped by for a visit to the  Tavis Smiley Show. They played two selections from the album: the title track and “A New World,” a performance you can catch further on in this post.

This wasn’t just another promotional talk show appearance in support of a musician’s latest album.  Blanchard is one our greatest proponents of jazz.  He’s both a link to tradition and a vital teacher and leader by example for up-and-coming players as jazz moves towards its future.   Blanchard often uses his music to make important statements on the issues of the day.   Tavis Smiley has always been a strong promoter of jazz and jazz musicians and is known to use the art of the interview as a tool for social enlightenment.   This segment gives us a glimpse at how jazz can invigorate social commentary and how the infusion of social commentary into jazz music can drive jazz long into the future.

Smiley’s  interview with Blanchard takes us from Blanchard’s New Orleans upbringing through his personal and professional reactions to hurricane Katrina and into his latest album Choices, where he uses the spontaneous spoken words of Dr. Cornel West to inspire his music and inform his audience.  West implores us to lead lives of courage, compassion, and service, and now his message has a novel way of reaching an audience — through Blanchard’s recordings and performances.

Choices is just the latest in a long line of Blanchard’s socially-conscious endeavors, many centered on his home town of New Orleans.   He placed his sorrow, rage, beautiful score and performances into long-time collaborator Spike Lee’s documentary on New Orleans after Katrina,  When the Levees Broke – A Requiem In Four Acts. Blanchard has scored all of Lee’s films since 1991.

He’s also the artistic director of and teaches master classes for the  Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, which recently moved from its first home at the University of Southern California to Loyola University in New Orleans.  The Institute is a big part of New Orleans’ ongoing rebirth and resurrection post-Katrina.

As a jazz fan, I’m really excited to see and hear Blanchard teaching, hiring, and inspiring the next generations of jazz musicians.   And I’m thrilled to see him collaborating with Dr. Cornel West as well as Spike Lee, because merging jazz and social commentary might well serve to revitalize the music and keep it healthy.

Watch and listen to Terence Blanchard and just four of the musicians he’s hired and inspired down the years as they perform “Choices” and “A New World.”

Terence Blanchard Group
Fabian Almazan — piano
Brice Winston — tenor sax
Michael Olatuja — bass
Kendrick Scott — drums

The Tavis Smiley Show
4 September 2009
“Choices” and “A New World” 10:04

Jeremy Pelt’s Men of Honor Light Up Duc des Lombards

Men of Honor

Give Jeremy Pelt credit for calling his cadre of super-talented young jazz men exactly what they are — men of honor.   As young as he is, Pelt’s been known for a decade as one of the best we have on trumpet, and he keeps great company.  Just last week his quintet made themselves at home at Duc des Lombards in Paris.  We’re fortunate to have a brief glimpse of that evening, the club’s video mashup of “From a Life of the Same Name” and “Us/Them,” both from Pelt’s latest album Men of Honor.

Pelt’s new-traditional vision is supported by drummer Gerald Cleaver, bassist Dwayne Burno, tenor man JD Allen, and pianist Xavier Davis (in place of the album’s Danny Grissett).  This is clearly a seasoned, together band.  It’s a pleasure to listen to the quintet move gently through the opening of “From a Life of the Same Name” with Pelt and Allen harmonizing over Davis’ quiet explorations.

For the neo-bop burner “Us/Them” Pelt replaces his flugelhorn with his trumpet.  Listen as Davis dialogues with Allen and Pelt before they launch fully into their respective solos, and Davis steps up to ride Burno and Cleaver’s pulse all the way out.

It’s a genuine privilege to hear and view these men of honor putting their stamp on some of the best of jazz tradition.

http://blip.fm/~ojabk

Jeremy Pelt Quintet
Duc des Lombards, Paris
5 April 2010
“From a Life of the Same Name” & “Us/Them” 9:35

Christian Scott Exhales Beauty In Berlin

Yesterday You Said Tomorrow

Back in February Christian Scott and his quintet were on tour in support of his groundbreaking new jazz album, Yesterday You Said Tomorrow.  This video catches the band in Berlin performing “Isadora.”

It’s a mesmerizing performance.  “Isadora” is a slow sensual waltz held  rhythmically together by Kristopher Funn’s bass and Jamire Wilson’s cymbals.  His brushed snare swirls,  an extension of Scott’s  warm, muted, breathy tone.  Pianist Milton Fletcher and guitarist Matt Stevens repeat a descending figure that keeps “Isadora” from drifting away completely, as Scott breathes the melody directly into our hearts.

I found myself drawn into this piece the way one might be lean in closer to someone when they lower their voice to tell you something special.  Christian Scott has important stories to tell on Yesterday You Said Tomorrow, and this performance of  “Isadora” is a wonderful invitation to listen closely.

http://blip.fm/~ogzrl

I really like  this video, which was shot from one rock-solid stable position. I’m able to look at the entire band from an audience member’s vantage point.  Sometimes simplicity is a beautiful thing.

Christian Scott Quintet live in Berlin
18 February 2010
“Isadora” 7:45

Brad Mehldau’s Groove Sizzles in San Sebastian

Metheny Mehldau Quartet

Three months after the release of their Quartet album, jazz guitarist Pat Metheny, pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Jeff Ballard lit up the stage in San Sebastian, Spain with the album’s opener, “A Night Away.”

When Mehldau solos he steals the moment, exchanging ideas with Grenadier, moving and shaping the pulse of the laid-back groove, and extending his feel-good vibe into the appreciative crowd.

Mehldau’s erstwhile band mate, sax man Joshua Redman, recently had this to say about the pianist:

His music just grooves. I mean, for all the complexity and all the harmonic rigor and all the technical prowess and all the lyricism, beneath it all is this incredible groove. His feel is unassailable.   He has the best groove on the planet.

Take in this live version of “A Night Away” and let the groove move you.

http://blip.fm/~n4r2n

Pat Metheny Brad Mehldau Quartet LIVE
Jazzaldia Festival, San Sebastian, Spain
28 July 2007
“A Night Away” 10:36