Terence Blanchard
Jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Oliver Blanchard was born on March 13, 1962 in New Orleans, Louisiana to Wilhelmina and Joseph Oliver Blanchard. Blanchard began playing piano at the age of five, but switched to trumpet three years later. While in high school, he took extracurricular classes at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. From 1980 to 1982, Blanchard studied at Rutgers University in New Jersey and toured with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra.
In 1982, Blanchard replaced trumpeter Wynton Marsalis in Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, where he served as musical director until 1986. He also co-led a quintet with saxophonist Donald Harrison in the 1980s, recording five albums between 1984 and 1988. In 1991, Blanchard recorded and released his self-titled debut album for Columbia Records, which reached third on the Billboard Jazz Charts. He also composed musical scores for Spike Lee’s films, beginning with 1991’s Jungle Fever, and has written the score for every Spike Lee film since including Malcolm X, Clockers, Summer of Sam, 25th Hour, Inside Man, and Miracle At St. Anna’s. In 2006, he composed the score for Lee's four-hour Hurricane Katrina documentary for HBO entitled When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts. Blanchard also composed for other directors, including Leon Ichaso, Ron Shelton, Kasi Lemmons and George Lucas. In all, he has written over fifty film scores.
Blanchard has also recorded several award-winning albums for Columbia, Concord, Sony Classical and Blue Note Records, including Simply Stated (1992), The Malcolm X Jazz Suite (1993), In My Solitude: The Billie Holiday Songbook (1994), Romantic Defiance (1995), The Heart Speaks (1996), Wandering Moon (2000), Let's Get Lost (2001), Bounce (2003), Flow (2005), A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina) (2007), Choices (2009), and Magnetic (2013).
In the fall of 2000, Blanchard was named artistic director of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz at the University of Southern California. In 2011, he was appointed artistic director of the Henry Mancini Institute at the University of Miami. Blanchard also composed music for a number of Broadway plays, and, on June 15, 2013, he premiered his first opera, Champion, with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
Throughout his career, Blanchard received thirteen Grammy Award nominations and won five. His other honors include an Emmy nomination, a Golden Globe nomination, a Soul Train Music nomination, two Black Reel nominations, and the Miles Davis Award from the Montreal International Jazz Festival. He received honorary degrees from Xavier University and Skidmore College in 2012.
Terence Blanchard was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on October 8, 2014.
A2014.248
Male
10/8/2014
Blanchard
Married
Oliver
Mary D. Coghill Elementary School
P. A. Capdau School
St. Augustine High School
John F. Kennedy High School
New Orleans Center for Creative Arts
Rutgers University
Terence
New Orleans
BLA17
Fall
Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
When You’re Creating Your Art Never Speak Above Nobody, Never Speak Beneath Them, Just Speak Straight To Them.

Louisiana
3/13/1962
New Orleans
United States
Okra Gumbo
Trumpet player and music composer Terence Blanchard (1962 - ) was a five-time Grammy Award-winning musician and a prolific film score composer. He released twenty jazz albums and wrote over fifty film scores for Spike Lee and other directors.
Henry Mancini Institute
Terence Blanchard
Herbie Hancock
Thelonious Monk Institute
Donald Harrison & Terence Blanchard
Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers
Lionel Hampton
Blue
Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Terence Blanchard's interview
Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Terence Blanchard lists his favorites
Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Terence Blanchard describes his father's family background
Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Terence Blanchard remembers his father's musical talent
Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Terence Blanchard describes his mother's family background, pt. 1
Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Terence Blanchard talks about his French heritage
Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Terence Blanchard describes how his parents met
Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Terence Blanchard describes his earliest childhood memories
Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Terence Blanchard describes his childhood homes
Tape: 1 Story: 10 - Terence Blanchard remembers living with his maternal grandmother
Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Terence Blanchard talks about his early interests and aspirations
Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Terence Blanchard describes his relationship with his father
Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Terence Blanchard talks about his early education
Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Terence Blanchard recalls his decision to attend the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts
Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Terence Blanchard describes his education at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts
Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Terence Blanchard recalls his friendship with Wynton Marsalis and Branford Marsalis
Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Terence Blanchard recalls his decision to play the trumpet
Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Terence Blanchard remembers meeting Alvin Alcorn
Tape: 2 Story: 9 - Terence Blanchard recalls his decision to study music formally
Tape: 2 Story: 10 - Terence Blanchard recalls his aspiration to become a musician
Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Terence Blanchard recalls his early interest in jazz music
Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Terence Blanchard recalls his decision to attend Rutgers University
Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Terence Blanchard remembers the jazz venues in New Orleans, Louisiana
Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Terence Blanchard remembers his teacher, Ellis Marsalis, Jr.
Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Terence Blanchard remembers William Fielder
Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Terence Blanchard talks about the importance of breath for musicians, pt. 1
Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Terence Blanchard talks about the importance of breath for musicians, pt. 2
Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Terence Blanchard recalls his introduction to Buddhism
Tape: 3 Story: 9 - Terence Blanchard remembers playing in Lionel Hampton's band
Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Terence Blanchard remembers leaving Rutgers University to tour with Art Blakey
Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Terence Blanchard remembers touring with Art Blakey
Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Terence Blanchard remembers Miles Davis
Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Terence Blanchard recalls signing a contract with Columbia Records
Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Terence Blanchard describes his composition and recording process
Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Terence Blanchard talks about the messages in his music
Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Terence Blanchard remembers the birth of his son
Tape: 4 Story: 8 - Terence Blanchard remembers meeting his half-sister
Tape: 4 Story: 9 - Terence Blanchard recalls the start of his collaborations with Spike Lee
Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Terence Blanchard remembers scoring 'Malcolm X'
Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Terence Blanchard describes his composition process for 'Malcolm X'
Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Terence Blanchard remembers the other contributors to 'Malcolm X'
Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Terence Blanchard describes his relationship with Spike Lee
Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Terence Blanchard lists his film scores
Tape: 5 Story: 6 - Terence Blanchard remembers scoring '4 Little Girls'
Tape: 5 Story: 7 - Terence Blanchard remembers Hurricane Katrina
Tape: 5 Story: 8 - Terence Blanchard remembers the destruction of his mother's home in New Orleans, Louisiana
Tape: 5 Story: 9 - Terence Blanchard remembers the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
Tape: 6 Story: 1 - Terence Blanchard talks about the response to Hurricane Katrina
Tape: 6 Story: 2 - Terence Blanchard remembers scoring Spike Lee's 'When the Levees Broke'
Tape: 6 Story: 3 - Terence Blanchard talks about teaching young musicians
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