Trumpet -World.com

New Orleans-born trumpeter Terence Blanchard (1962), another alumnus of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1982-86) like Wynton Marsalis (whom he replaced), was, like Marsalis, heavily influenced by Freddie Hubbard's sound, shot to the forefront of the hard-bop revival when he formed the quintet with altoist Donald Harrison and pianist Mulgrew Miller that debuted on New York Second Line (october 1983).

Terence Blanchard is a poet of the trumpet.

That has been clear since he broke onto the scene 25 years ago. And his music gets richer and deeper as he finds new areas to explore.

He’s a busy guy, writing scores for films, writing music for his own band, finding new talent for his band and leading his group around the world.

All the while, Blanchard has remained true to his jazz roots as a trumpeter and bandleader on the performance circuit. He has recorded several award-winning albums for Columbia, Sony Classical and Blue Note Records, including In My Solitude: The Billie Holiday Songbook (1994), Romantic Defiance (1995), The Heart Speaks (1996), Wandering Moon (2000), Let's Get Lost (2001) and Flow (2005), which was produced by pianist Herbie Hancock and received two Grammy Award nominations.

Terence Blanchard's 2001 CD Let's Get Lost was his most commercially successful album to date. It features new arrangements of classic songs written by Jimmy McHugh and performed by his own quintet along with the leading ladies of jazz vocals: Diana Krall, Jane Monheit, Dianne Reeves, and Cassandra Wilson.

In 2005, Blanchard was part of the ensemble that won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album for his participation on McCoy Tyner’s Illuminations, an award he shared with Tyner, Gary Bartz, Christian McBride and Lewis Nash.

Now 47, Blanchard has moved gracefully from upstart to established master. He came from New Orleans, following Wynton Marsalis to Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Blanchard then formed bands of his own and later signed with the same record label as Marsalis. But Blanchard cannot be accused of imitation.

He isn’t the bravura trumpeter that Marsalis is — Blanchard’s horn smolders with a lower flame — but his well-chosen notes still scorch. His recent music has a solemn grandeur, and his dramatic sense is well-honed from all that work in film.

Unlike so many of those who came onto the scene in the 1980s, Blanchard is delivering on the promise he showed then. And he’s promising even more.

Source:The Kansas City Star / Wiki