TERENCE BLANCHARD'S E-COLLECTIVE

TERENCE BLANCHARD’S E-COLLECTIVE will ex- plore various areas, centered around jazz, but also includ- ing various elements of blues, R&B, funk and fusion. Taking the unusual and inno-vative approach of abandon-ing the traditional "soloist/accompaniment" demarcation of straight-ahead jazz and the E-COLLECTIVE will instead feature opportunities for continuous improvisation by every member of the band. The individual solos are more prominent, but never over- whelm the music's collective approach. At the onset, the band's music will feature a free, extended improvisation- al method (similar to Miles Davis's Bitches Brew-period
work), but will pull itself towards the groove and pre-structured forms.
The E-COLLECTIVE will feature a tight rhythm and blues-oriented rhythm section composed of Donald Ramsey (bass) and Oscar Seaton (drums), and the music will have a relaxed, funky groove with Charles Altura (gui- tar) and Fabian Almazan (keyboard, piano, synths) that will give the band an appeal to a far wider audience. Perhaps a defining moment of Terence Blanchard’s career, the E-COLLECTIVE will make jazz listeners out of rhythm and blues fans, and vice versa.

With more than 29 albums and multiple Grammy Awards and nominations to his credit as a musician, jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard is perhaps even more widely recognized for his work as a composer for film. Director Spike Lee first took note of his performances on the scores for Do the Right Thing and Mo' Better Blues, and subsequently hired Blanchard to compose the score for each of his films since 1991, including Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Clockers, Summer of Sam, and Inside Man. A New Orleans native, Terence also composed the score for Lee's When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, an HBO documentary special about Hurricane Katrina. In addition to his extensive film work, the trumpeter and bandleader has maintained a long and successful career as a live performer. When Wynton Marsalis left Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers in 1982, Blanchard succeeded him and stayed with the band until 1986. Blanchard's most popular CD is Let's Get Lost, which features his quintet along with top jazz vocalists Diana Krall, Jane Monheit, Dianne Reeves, and Cassandra Wilson.