Artist : Terence Blanchard
Album : A Tale Of God's Will (A Requiem For Katrina)
Label : Blue Note Records
Genre : Jazz
Bitrate : 185 kbps avg
Source : CD (LP)
Playtime : 01:12:13 (102 MB)
Rls date : 2007-08-04
Store date : 2007-08-14
[Track List]
1. Ghost Of Congo Square 3:03
2. Levees 8:08
3. Wading Through 6:29
4. Ashe 8:19
5. In Time Of Need 7:53
6. Ghost Of Betsy 2:07
7. The Water 4:07
8. Mantra Intro 3:21
9. Mantra 9:51
10.Over There 7:45
11.Ghost Of 1927 1:38
12.Funeral Dirge 5:53
13.Dear Mom 3:39
Terence Blanchard╞s A Tale Of God's Will
(A Requiem For Katrina), a beautifully haunting
and impassioned song-cycle about the physical and
emotional ravages incurred upon the City of New Orleans
and its residents as a result of Hurricane Katrina, is set
for release by Blue Note Records on August 14th. Featuring
thirteen original compositions written by Blanchard and
members of his band, A Tale of God╞s Will is an evocative
emotional journey of a city whose spirit lives on through
the most devastating of circumstances - as told through
the musical genius of one of New Orleans╞ proudest
residents √ Terence Blanchard.
Recorded at Conway Studios in Los Angeles and Studio X and
Bastyr University Chapel in Seattle, A Tale of God╞s Will
features a 40 piece orchestra string section in addition
to Blanchard╞s band (Derrick Hodge on bass, Aaron Parks on
piano, Kendrick Scott on drums and Brice Winston on
saxophone). While specific tracks from the CD were
originally written for the Levees documentary, both the
creative process for scoring the film and the physical
experience of living through Katrina itself left no doubt
in Blanchard╞s mind that his next CD project would be a
musical expression and expansion of these, of having gone
through the Hurricane itself as well as through the
aftermath of this terrible event, and that he would be
helping to contribute to the rebuilding of the city - both
musically and otherwise √ in any way that he could.
⌠This moment must be seen,÷ says Blanchard, ⌠Has to be
seen by those people around the world who don╞t know what
has happened here. What is happening here. Yes. Still.÷
Blanchard also called upon the talents of his bandmates to
create music for the new CD √ as heard on Derrick Hodge╞s
⌠Over There÷, Aaron Park╞s ⌠Ashe÷, Kendrick Scott╞s
⌠Mantra÷ and Brice Winston╞s ⌠In Time of Need÷. Each track
was written by the individual band member and offers their
own unique perspective of the tragedy in New Orleans, yet
all of the music flows together seamlessly to create an
unbelievably poignant and inspiring whole work.
The past year has been an incredibly prolific one for the
world-renowned film composer and trumpet player on a
number of other levels as well. While working on A Tale of
God╞s Will, Blanchard also played a pivotal role in the
moving of The Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz from Los
Angeles to New Orleans, a move that as Artistic Director
he feels will benefit not only the city of New Orleans,
but the students themselves who will be surrounded by the
ever-present rich diversity of music in the Crescent City.
In addition, Blanchard was chosen by the Monterey Jazz
Festival to be their honorary Artist-In-Residence for
2007, teaching at the institute there several times
throughout the year and of course performing all weekend
at the upcoming festival itself in September of 2007.
July will see the release of Talk To Me, acclaimed
Director Kasi Lemmon╞s new film based on the life of
radical disc jockey and political activist Petey Greene,
played by Don Cheadle. Blanchard╞s score for Talk To Me
will be his 41st film score, following on the heels of
Levees as well as his groundbreaking work for Universal
Pictures/Imagine Entertainment╞s Inside Man, in which he
called upon the talents of not only his band, but an
80-piece orchestra.
Besides performing for sold-out audiences around the
globe, Terence was a featured panelist and performer at
this year╞s Sundance Film Festival and served as a keynote
speaker at the Billboard Film and Television Music
Conference. One week out of every month finds Terence
teaching at the Monk Institute, and he just recently
performed at the 2007 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage
Festival. Flow: Living In The Stream of Music, the
critically-acclaimed documentary that followed Terence and
his band across four continents, was nominated for a
Grammy (Best Long-form Music Video) in the 49th Annual
Grammy Awards (his critically-acclaimed CD, Flow, was the
recipient of two Grammy nominations in 2006).
Blanchard was born in New Orleans on March 13, 1962, and
began playing piano at 5 years of age. In elementary
school, he added on the trumpet and was coached at home by
his opera-singing father. In high school, Terence came
under the tutelage of Ellis Marsalis and Roger Dickerson,
and after graduation, attended Rutger╞s University on a
music scholarship where one of his professors was so
impressed by his talent that he brokered him a touring gig
with Lionel Hampton╞s band.
In '83, Wynton Marsalis recommended Terence as his
replacement in Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. Part of the
Blakey legend was his ability to foster performances and
individual personalities from the young, malleable talents
he brought into his fold. Blakey utilized and nurtured the
improvisation and compositional ideas of his band members
to solidify his own unique artistic vision. The legacy of
the working band as jazz workshop is at the essence of
jazz, and Terence remains one of the few on the scene
today who fully embrace that dynamic.
Two years later, Terence and fellow Messenger Donald
Harrison split to form their own quintet. In '90, TB
departed to pursue a solo career. During his tenure at
Columbia, both his soundtrack to Mo╞ Better Blues and his
CD The Heart Speaks were nominated for Grammy Awards.
Signed to the Sony Classical label in 1999, the
trumpeter/composer gained acclaim as a bandleader and
composer of movie and television soundtracks (including
the Grammy-nominated Wandering Moon and a Golden Globe
nomination for his score for Spike Lee╞s The 25th Hour).
In 2003 Terence signed with Blue Note Records and has
released Bounce and Flow, the first two parts of a
three-record trilogy.
Additional films that Terence has written the music for
include Eve╞s Bayou, Malcolm X, Barbershop, Their Eyes
Were Watching God and Clockers.
The release of A Tale of God╞s Will will be accompanied by
a worldwide tour with Terence and his band, as well as
dates featuring guest appearances by Spike Lee focusing on
their film work together and in particular, the music of
When the Levees Broke.