The brilliant jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard, best known for scoring Spike Lee films, made history in September by becoming the first black composer presented by the Metropolitan Opera in its 138-year history. He comes to Mizner Park with his internationally acclaimed band, The E-Collective, and the double-GRAMMY®-winning Turtle Island Quartet, in a program from his new album Absence, a tribute to the legendary jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter.
E-Collective
Terence Blanchard (trumpet/synths)
Charles Altura (guitar)
Taylor Eigsti (piano/keyboard/synths)
David Ginyard, Jr. (electric bass)
Oscar Seaton (drums)
Turtle Island Quartet
David Balakrishnan (violin)
Gabriel Terracciano (violin)
Benjamin von Gutzeit (Viola)
Naseem Alatrash (Cello)
This concert is presented in partnership with FAU/Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, with support from the Dorothy F. Schmidt Eminent Scholar in the Arts Endowment.
EVENT SPONSOR: Florida Atlantic University
MEDIA SPONSOR: Channel 12
Artists & Authors
Venue
Festival Boca is committed to the health and safety of everyone involved in its events, from attendees, to artists and staff. ◼︎ All events will take place in Mizner Park Amphitheater – an outdoor (tented) venue. ◼︎ Enjoy socially-distanced, open seating with all seats 4 feet apart. ◼︎ All staff and artists will be vaccinated and boosted. ◼︎ Like other Florida arts venues, we have a well-considered Health and Safety protocol for all performances.
The Encyclopedia Britannica asserts that “Any attempt to arrive at a precise, all-encompassing definition of jazz is probably futile.” Replace the word jazz in that quote with the name Terence Blanchard and you have a statement that is no less true or beguiling.
Terence Blanchard and the E-Collective stopped at NPR headquarters for a Tiny Desk Concert. The mood was relaxed and jovial from the time the group stepped into the lobby, with Englishman Chris Bailey supplying plenty of backbeats on our house drum set — though there was a moment toward the end of the set when Blanchard casually explained the project, setting up a lyrical, almost elegiac solo. This music was a modern update on jazz fusion, sure, but also one where we dance to ward off despair.
