TUREKA TURK
Michigan Clttz.n
The Gentle On
by Tina Harrl.
He painted the blind
a chance to see
He gave the self-imprisoned
the chance for freedom
Those of us who doubt
for a moment could believe
The cold were given a chance to
feel
But he was Let down
By those deaf to silent tears
The gentl« ones
are always feared
Better to have l>eDJ til tht light lor
a moment
than to have lived a whole life in
darkness
For one star to have blessed you
from above
Let my tear. reach you
Wherever you are
And know that you are missed
Who am J? I am the one who will
never forget you
- from Terenc. Blanchard'. ·The
Malcolm X Jazz Suit.·
Inasrnoky room filled with strang­
ers and friends, a bandstand is the
center of attention. Amidst the ound
of clinking glasses and soft conversa­
tion, a man stands in the spotlight of
the stage. After a brief soundcheck
from those around him, he begins to
blow softly into his trumpet, hi voice
to the audience.
The spirits of John Coltrane Miles'
Davis, Clifford Brown, Wayne
Shorter, Thelonious Monk and Char­
les Mingus hover around the young
man and hi melodious journey. Who
is the man? Terence Blanchard.
Where does this all happen? In your
mind when you listen to Terence
Blanchard' third release (not count­
ing numerous appearances on dozers
of other recordings) "The Malcolm X
Jazz Suite". '
The recording i a personal jour­
ney done in the pirit of the jazz of
yesteryear. th quartets and quintets,
, before fusion ever reared its head into
the tream of the art form.
The beauty 9f "The Opening" i
earth moving. A igh of relief from
true jazz lovers can be heard through­
out the world. "Thi "they will say,
"proves that the erce of jazz, of
life, is not lost." The melody takes a
path from your' ears to your oul and
remains there. even after the tune i
history.
"MEWDY FOR LAURA" i a
fine tribute to Malcolm' eighth won­
derofthe world. It i riddled with th
confusion and the ad 0 Laura.
"The Nation" i turdy and
taunch the religio organizati n
itself. Its immense unity and ync
nization i brou ht to music through
Bran hard' strength am
Blanchard', m ic i
to Spike 's =Malcolm th
inematography or th produ tion de­
ign. It flows with th tory unfolding
before your v ry ey ,
Never h
th immens nc of Afri an-
Am ri n ulturc, uruversally. in
Oumcy Jones" "Roots",
Trumpeter/bandleader/compo r
/arranger/conductor/record producer
Blanchard jumped at the chance to
take part in the project.
"Anyone would have been excited
to work on this project," h said, "be­
cause of Malcolm X' significance to
world politics and to the African­
American community's truggle for
human rights. The music that I have
written i the emotional backbone
which carries you through the entire
story and life of Malcolm X, from
beginning to end."
Blanchard i from th me chool
the Marsali es, the old chool that
is a masala of old school contribu­
tions/) 0118 and new cbool experi­
ments/exuberance.
At 16, he enrolled in the New Or­
leans Center for the Creative Arts
(NOCCA), where he studied withjazz
great BtUs MarsaliS and el teal
trumpet with great George Jenson.
Blanc� em on to attend Rut­
gers State University, studying with
Kenny Barron, Paul Jeffries and Bill
Fielder. While attending Rutgers,
Blanchard got the chance to go on the
road with Lionel Hampton.
BLANCHARD, ALONG with
axophonist Donald HaITi on, re­
placed the Marsali brothers in Art
Blakely and the Jazz. Messengers in
1 82. It was with Blakely that Ter-
<ence played and compo ed on the
Grammy winning "New York cene"
(1983).
tom lip over my top teeth, which often
caused me to cut my lip," he said.
Blanchard retired to the woodshed
to relearn his instrument. And by the
time Spike Lee began work on "Mo'
Better Blues, Terence Blanchard had
emerged from the woodshed with a
new embouchure. Blanchard erved
as technical upervisor and musical
composer for the film. It was also
Blanchard who breathed into the
magical majcstical music of Bleck
Gilliam, portrayed by Demel Wash­
ington.
Blanchard, along with the Bran­
ford Marsalis Quartet and Bill Lee,
gave 'birth to one of the most memo­
rable sourx1tracks in jaxz history.
One shining star not on the sound­
track is '"Sing Soweto", a beautiful
emotion evokin melody and a burst
ulful c:MeACe..
"WIDLE WE WERE taking a
break at the tudio one night," recall
Spike, "I heard Terence tinkering with
a melody on the piano. I liked what I
heard and asked him to play the entire
song. 'Sing Soweto' was the title, and
Terence agreed to let us use it. That
ame night we recorded Terence play­
ing the song as a solo for muted trum­
pet."
'Sing Soweto' was also used in
Spike's "Jungle Fever" and
Blanchard' "Lll' Fawdy" (New Or­
�eans affectionate slang for "Little Fa-
"Themusic that I have written
is the emotional backbone
which carries you through the
entire story and life of
Malcolm X,jrom beginning to
"
In 1 • Blanchard and Harri on
Ie t Blakely, forming their own quin­
tet and recorded their debut, "Nas­
cene". The debut w followed with
"Crystal Stair't ui 1987. By the end of
that year, with numerous awards and
ymbol of recognition th two were
in RCAStudioAin New York record­
ing the oundtrack to' Spike Lee'
II chool Daz ".
After the third Harrison-Blanchard
album'; "Black Pearl", they got to­
geth r .with the Branford Ma ali
Quartet and conduct r/cornpo er Bill
Lee' Natural Spiritual Ore tra for
the original score of Spike Lee' "Do
Th Right Thing".
The duo were then elected by
Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones to
receive th Sony Innovato Award.
"They have an emotional tyle and
technique that defin the image of
jazz. Harri on and Blanch rd are
f rming the jazz f t m rrow," id
Han ck.
nd "Tomorrow's Just A
Luxury".
Blanchard began hi work for hi
econd album in October 1991. The
recording, "Simply Stilted", w pro­
duced by Blanchard. The title tune i
a celebration of Miles Davi .
"He alway had the ability to play
melodies in ucha simply stated fash­
ion, yet be very poignant and pro-
found," said Blanchard. .
"Dear Old tockholm" and "De­
tour Ahead" are the other contribu­
tions to the memory of Davis on
"Simply Stated", which was released
April 22, 1992 and dedicated to
Blanchard' daughter, Olivia Ray.
After numerous gigs and festival ,
Blanchard t down to commence hi
recordin of the music for Spike Lee'
epic "Malcolm X" on June 22.
''The rnusi for 'Malcolm X' came
me afterrea1ing� Baldwin and Spike
Lee' script," Blanchan1 '. "It �.
ulizes aU of the fn6tration, fear aBi anger
that I felt when I first encoun1ttCd the
nality Malcolm X,"
'IITh Malcolm X Jazz uite" i a
, reinterpretation of th soundtrack that
proved to be a mile tone in
Blanchard' career and emotional
journey. The pin of the pion 0
jazz ar miling down on Terence
Bl nchard. "Th Malcolm X Jazz
top painstaking pI
urn through th ul and
two m n.
erence Blanchard
THE DOWN LOW BYTABATHACRAYTON
Nichclle Ni hoI who Trekki will remember played
Lt. Uhura on th original Star Trek, i getting $415,
from Putnam Books to write ab ut her day on the enter-
pri e. No dat I. et f r it rei e yet.
n a enda. Remember, everything i not what it urns
in th media and wait until you hear everyone's ide before
you tart tin blame.
.
"Gettin By" the cri tarrin Telma H pkins h'
found a new home NB .
Motivati nal peakcr arfd husband f. in er Glady
Knight, Le Brown h: n cI hrn J with th � 1 at King
World wh plan to launch yet nether tal h w tarring
Brown thi fall. It eerns that Brown only wants to do
"positive, uplifting mat rial," ay a ou cl to the new
talker. Th how' produ , no dummy to th talk trad
have been t lIing him that he has t add a little h t au
every now and th n.
P It On: African-Am rican Poetry for Children ed-
ited by Wade Hudson, illustrated by floyd Cooper (J t
U Books), Th beautifully illustrated okcouJd bea mini
African-American literature course in i If. Poetry com
from wide range our best writers uch Langst n
Hu h , 1100 Giovanni, Gwendolyn Broo and El i
G n icld. Th topi ' re just as electic with 'illy rhym
thrown In th mix with hi torical 0 .
Johnny Gill' new rei "Prov cative" would t
m re fa "dt it" i my two 'pi 0 hi tape worked. I
particularly like "Where No Man Has Gone Befo ". "I G t
You," nd "Quiet Time To Play".
letters have been mingo Thank you thank
y u, thank you. xt w k I will let you h r m of my
Iavont mm n . Y ucanwritet :TabithaCrayton.21
Vikin Way # -6, B kport ew York 14420. I'm ut.
P' ',T