Department of Music

• Saturday, March 14th, 2009
• Old Cabell Hall
• 8:00pm
• $10 / $5 students / 5 ARTS$

The following is the official schedule for Mr. Blanchard's residency.

These Arts Enhancement Events are supported by the Provost's Office to increase the awareness of and support for the arts at the University of Virginia.

"Jazz in Film" Colloquium
Friday, March 13th, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.
Old Cabell Hall, room 107
Free

Public Master Class
Saturday, March 14th, 1:00 p.m.
Old Cabell Hall, room B018
Free

Concert with the UVA Jazz Ensemble
Saturday, March 14th, 8pm
Old Cabell Hall Auditorium
10 general / 5 students / 5ARTS$ for UVA Students
434.924.3984

The UVA Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of John D'earth, will perform with guest artist four-time Grammy Award-winning trumpeter and composer, Terence Blanchard, on Saturday, March 14th. As part of the Year in Jazz, which main focus is to heighten jazz at the University, the McIntire Department of Music will sponsor a three-day residency accompanied by a live performance on March 14th. Mr. Blanchard will interact with student musicians in workshop settings and rehearse with the Jazz Ensemble. He will also give a colloquium to the faculty and graduate students on Jazz in Film and have a free-and-open-to-the-public master class on the day of the concert.

Terence Blanchard's most recent Grammy Awards were in 2007 for his Blue Note recording, A Tale of God's Will, and in 2009 for best instrumental solo. At the March 14th concert, the Jazz Ensemble will be performing two tracks from A Tale of God's Will: In Time of Need and Ashe'. The album is an impassioned musical depiction of the personal and social costs of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and its shameful aftermath. Blanchard and his family were personally affected by this tragedy and his 13-track song cycle is an example of the kind of primary artistic response to personal history that marks John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, Billie Holiday's Billie's Blues, and the music of Charles Mingus.

"This is what we are called on to do as artists," says the trumpeter, bandleader, arranger, and film-score composer. "We document our social surroundings and give our impressions of events. The problem with Katrina is that the devastation is so vast that there's only been a trickle of art so far. We're all still digesting what went on and what continues to happen. It's like an unending story. For me, like so many others, it's taken me a moment to get my mind around all of this. I knew I needed to express this musically, to keep the story alive, but so many important things – the safety of family members, figuring out how to rebuild my mother's house – never allowed me the time to breathe for a minute."

The UVA Jazz Ensemble has hosted many jazz luminaries over the years including Clark Terry, Joe Henderson, Pat Metheny, and Kurt Rosenwinkel, to name a few. "The Terence Blanchard concert is particularly compelling for me," says D'earth, "because, as a trumpet playing composer myself, I am in awe of what he does in both areas. His music has an undeniable immediacy and authenticity and he seems completely unimpressed with arbitrary boundaries between jazz and classical music or what could be perceived as "commercial" or "avante-garde" styles. He is a stellar creative jazz musician and a heroic trumpet player in the mold of great originators like Louis Armstrong, Clifford Brown and Miles Davis. I am an unabashed and total fan after being exposed to his work. I'm particularly excited about my Jazz Ensemble students interacting with this master musician who is so deeply and passionately involved with creativity in the present moment; someone who is interested in something much more immediate than honoring and recreating a tradition. That said, Terence is a vibrant traditionalist whose playing bristles and sings with an awareness of all the greatness that has preceded him and helped to form his style. To me, his playing is organic, funky, and pristine all at once. Being around artists like Terence Blanchard has the potential to change you forever."

The concert will also include several selections from Blanchard's acclaimed Jazz in Film CD: Anatomy of a Murder, Degas' Racing World (both composed by Duke Ellington and arranged by Blanchard), and The Man With The Golden Arm (composed by Elmer Bernstein and arranged by Blanchard). Also on the program will be two masterworks by Bobby Brookmeyer composed for the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis band, Samba Con Getchu and ABC Blues, and finally, a new piece composed by D'earth, Careless Magic Blues.

Tickets can be purchased at the Cabell Hall Box Office at (434) 924.3984. Tickets are $10 / $5 for students / 5ARTS$ for UVA students.