Terence Blanchard

Born in New Orleans in 1962, trumpeter and composer Terrence Blanchard first attracted international attention as a member of one of the last incarnations of hard-bop drummer Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers from 1982 to 1986. But he's refused to take a predictable career path ever since. He left to form a quintet with saxophonist Donald Harrison, his frontline partner in Blakey’s band. While rooted in post-bop, he expanded his music to include moody electronics. He also gained acclaim for his soundtrack work, scoring nearly every production from film director Spike Lee, including Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X. As a bandleader he’s made nearly two dozen recordings for Columbia and Blue Note, moving seamlessly between post-bop and fusion. In 2021 he became the first African American composer to have an opera staged by New York’s Metropolitan Opera when the company premiered Fire Shut Up in My Bones in the fall of 2021.