A FIRESIDE
CHAT WITH TERENCE BLANCHARD
I can't think of a more glorious sound than Terence Blanchard. If Gabriel
were playing jazz music, he would probably be Blanchard. Wait a minute.
Maybe Blanchard is Gabriel. You make your own conclusions after reading
this one on one and buying his latest recording, Wandering Moon. As always,
it is brought to you in Dolby Surround Sound, unedited and in his and
my own words.
FRED
JUNG: Let's start from the beginning.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: My father started me on the piano when I was a kid because
I tried to bang out Batman on the piano. I guess I got on his nerves and
he said that if I was going to play it, to play it right and so he got
me some lessons. I started playing the trumpet in fourth grade at elementary
school because a guy came to my school and gave a demonstration on New
Orleans jazz and I went home and wanted to learn how to play just based
on hearing him. Then I went to the New Orleans Center for the Creative
Arts. I met Wynton and Branford before that and Donald Harrison and some
other people. I left there and went to Rutgers University and while I
was there, I was playing with Lionel Hampton for about two years and then
I joined Art Blakey's band in 1982.
FJ:
Let's touch on your time with Hamp.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: Well, the most important thing that he expressed to us was
that you had to be true to yourself. You had to be honest about what it
was that you were doing because people can feel insincerity in music.
He said that you should never speak down to anybody. Never speak above
them. Speak right to them. That was the first thing. The second thing
was that Rome wasn't built in a day. You have to work hard and it takes
time to develop as an artist and it's a lifelong process. In terms of
being a leader, one of the things he always stressed was that if you hire
a guy, don't try to change the way he plays because something that you
heard in him in the first place was the thing that made you hire him.
FJ:
Speak right to them, but there are certain intellectuals that give off
the perception that jazz is a higher art form.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: No, I think that is the wrong attitude. I think a lot of times
people think that way because of negative images that have been created
by non-jazz fans. Although I will admit that there are probably jazz fans
who probably feel that they are above everybody else because they are
part of some small subculture of American art. I've never felt that way
and when I've met musicians who were the pioneers of this music, they
never came across that way. They came across as normal people with extraordinary
talent.
FJ:
Being with Blakey must have felt like going to school?
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: It was exactly like going to school. It was like going to graduate
finishing school because you got a chance to see how he would react in
different musical situations because before then, you are listening to
the finished product. You are listening to the records. So I was there
at the inception of the process, in terms of rehearsing the music and
developing the concept and working out the details on specific arrangements.
So when you join the band, you get a chance to see all of that. Rehearsals
and Art Blakey would come in and he would sit down and say, "Well,
look. Why don't we do this here and do this here?" Then you start
to understand how all of those other albums were created. It made me go
back and listen to them all again. I don't know how to explain it. You
are in the middle of it, as opposed to being an outsider.
FJ:
Being from New Orleans and playing the trumpet, you must have received
your share of Wynton comparisons?
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: I used to, not anymore, no. Now, I guess people kind of accept
the fact that we both exist and so it doesn't really happen that much
anymore.
FJ:
How did you go from playing on the bandstand to composing film scores?
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: Totally by accident. I was finishing playing on some of Spike
Lee's stuff and we were doing some prerecorded material for Mo' Better
Blues and we took a break and I sat at the piano and played my own compositions
and Spike came over and heard it and asked if he could use it. Later on,
after we shot it, he asked me if I could write an orchestral arrangement
for it. That was the beginning of it because he really liked the arrangement
and he called me to do Jungle Fever.
FJ:
How is composing for a film different from writing charts for a sextet?
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: The main difference has to do with the intent of the music.
That's the beginning of it. The intentions are very different. In writing
for my own situation, I am basically dealing with my own artistic vision
and statements that I want to make. Dealing with film, basically, I am
there to enhance somebody else's vision and really help push the story
along and stay within the context of that story. So when I am writing
film music, the most important thing for me is first of all, what direction
does the director want to go in? Does he want the music to play counter
to we see on the screen or does he want it to enhance what we see on the
screen? Things like that and then we go through style in terms of what
type of score, big orchestral score, small score. Once we get the thematic
material etched out, then everything else is just kind of on me to create
the score.
FJ:
So take me through how you score Malcolm X.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: What happened with Malcolm X is the first thing Spike said
was, "Look, it has got to be big." We brought in the Harlem
Boys Choir and so I had to write for them. We had close to sixty-six orchestra
musicians and we had them all in the studio at one time.
FJ:
That must have been a pretty big studio.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: Yes, it was a big studio. It was BMG Studios. It was so huge,
Fred, they used to do modeling shows in there. They had a stage, as well
as the other area of the studio where you could put musicians on the floor.
So what we did was we had the orchestra on the floor and we had the choir
on the stage behind them. It was pretty massive, Fred. You have to remember
that this was my second film. I was scared shitless. I saw all these people
walking into the studio and I'm all, "Wait, I'm not ready."
So once we got that together, once we knew we wanted to have something
that grand, the rest of it was a matter of finding themes for character.
I remember theme I wrote for Malcolm X, Spike didn't approve of it at
first because he kind of heard it out of context, which was my fault.
I played it on the piano for him with all of the chord changes, knowing
that that wasn't going to be the way that I was going to arrange it. When
he first heard it, he said, "Oh, I don't know." I did an arrangement
for him that is very similar to what you hear on the opening credits.
When he heard that, he said, "OK, I like this." Once we had
that together, the rest was on me.
FJ:
How many films have you done since?
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: I think I'm close to the thirty mark.
FJ:
What have you worked on recently?
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: I have a film out right now called Love & Basketball.
FJ:
I've seen that film.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: What did you think?
FJ:
Bad title. Good music. Took me back.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: It's a chick flick, basically.
FJ:
So how do you write for a chick flick?
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: Well, you just have to be sensitive and make sure the music
doesn't really get in the way of the dialogue because in movies like that,
a lot of the times, dialogue is very important and certain aspects of
what folks are saying. I just finished Spike's Bamboozled.
FJ:
How is the approach for Bamboozled different from that of Love & Basketball?
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: Well, melodically, Spike really likes very melodic music. Even
though the theme for Love & Basketball is very melodic, this thing
is very different from anything that I've written for Spike. It has kind
of like a pop element to it on certain parts of the theme. There is jazz
elements to it because I use my band along with an orchestra. So we haven't
done anything like this with Spike for a while, since the earlier films
like Malcolm X and Jungle Fever. I guess that is the main thing, just
stylistically, they are different. What we tried to do with Bamboozled
is try to have the entire score just constantly developing as you watch
the film because the film has a very unique look to it, different from
anything else Spike has done in the past. So I tried to make sure that
the score would reflect that, so the score starts out with just a jazz
ensemble and then as you watch the movie, the jazz ensemble is augmented
with an orchestra.
FJ:
Your thoughts on the state of classical music now.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: I think there are still a lot of composers in that world, but
they don't garner a lot of attention because it's so hard for their music
to be played and recognized. Some of them get their music played, but
for people to really recognize what they are doing, it is hard because
the record industry is not going to record this stuff because they are
trying to sell records. When you are trying to sell records, you tend
to deal with the more popular pieces. The classical world is in a weird
predicament right now because admittedly they have run into a problem
now where they can't just continually record the same things over and
over, but trying to introduce audiences to new music is very hard.
FJ:
Let's use John Williams as an example, he is a preeminent American composer.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: He is. Oh, definitely. His theme for Schindler's List is just
amazing.
FJ:
But you never hear of a John Williams night.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: Yeah, but you know, Fred, that is just kind of how that world
is, the classical world. It's the same thing with the jazz world. I may
be a very successful film composer, but it doesn't mean anything in the
jazz world.
FJ:
Let's touch on your latest release on Sony Classical, Wandering Moon.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: Well, the concept was to really write music that is centered
around the theme, which was based on my personal experiences of traveling.
I find it interesting that people think we live such a glamorous life,
when the family part of what it is you do suffers so much. So hence the
title, Wandering Moon, because I remember being on the road, being in
Europe, being in Japan, missing my family, wondering what my kids are
doing, knowing that I'm missing out on very important events in their
life, only to look at the moon and that would make me feel closer to them
because I would kind of be over their head in like seven hours if I was
in Europe. Then also, that is just the conceptual side in terms of thematic,
that's the thematic side, but it terms of creating the music, I also tried
to give room and tried to write something that was geared towards the
strengths of the guys in my band.
FJ:
Aaron Fletcher sounds remarkably like Cannonball.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: He is very talented. He's grown a lot since that record. He's
grown a great deal since that record. If he continues to grow and continues
to practice like the way he is doing, he is going to be one major forces
in the business.
FJ:
Edward Simon is something else as well.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: Well, you know, Fred, I always call him my secret weapon because
a lot of people have not really realized the amount of talent that this
guy possesses. He's a soft-spoken, quiet guy and I think people just kind
of overlook Ed, which is fine because that means he stays in my band a
lot longer. But he's a great talent. He brings a lot to the band, a great
deal. He brings a certain kind of maturity to the band that is needed,
a certain kind of sophistication harmonically. There is a great understanding
of rhythm too because of his Latin background.
FJ:
And of course, Eric Harland, now, there is a monster.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: He is. Definitely, he is already one of the major forces in
the business. He's a young guy but he is developing his own thing and
the thing I love about Eric is Eric is always trying to be creative. He
never settles for anything, which is great to have because it keeps you
on your toes. It keeps you thinking. It keeps you pushing and trying to
move forward.
FJ:
There is a track on the album titled, "Joe & O," who is
Joe and who is O?
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: Joe is basically for my father and myself. Oliver Joseph Blanchard
was my father and my name is Terence Oliver. It is both of our middle
names.
FJ:
You have made a reference to the difficult life of a musician and how
it is not about five-star hotels and limousines.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: Yeah, we don't travel around and get chauffeured around and
stay at the best hotels and eat the best foods and I think a lot of times
people view us kind of as nomads, who love this life and we do love it.
We love the playing part of it. I call it a sickness.
FJ:
Why?
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: Because once you get hooked on playing, Fred, you chase that
drug for the rest of your life. At the age that I am right now, I have
other priorities in my life, family, which is one of them and so trying
to balance the two is really rough.
FJ:
It is a catch twenty-two because in this age of the latest thing, if you
are not out in the forefront, you might as well be under a rock, so if
you want to be a successful musician, you have to record. You have to
tour and that ultimately means you have to sacrifice your family.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: That's right. Art Blakey used to say, "Out of sight, out
of mind." He always used to tell us that and he would say, "You
have to stay out there and keep working." It makes it very difficult
because your kids are going through very important parts in their lives,
stuff that they need to have you around for and you're not there. So it
is very hard when I come home and my kids call me mom just out of habit.
They are just out of habit of saying mom all the time.
FJ:
How old are your kids?
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: Twelve, eight, three, and one.
FJ:
That is a full house.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: Yeah, definitely.
FJ:
And the future?
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: I have a couple of other films that I am working on, one with
Sam Jackson and Dancing in the Dark with Angelina Jolie. And then I am
going into the studio in the fall for another record and continue to tour
with my band.
FJ:
That's the second Jolie film you have scored. You composed the theme behind
Gia.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: Yeah, it did well.
FJ:
Having a growing family, are there time when you are away from your wife
and children that you regret that path you have chosen?
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: I don't know if regret is the right word because I love playing
and I love traveling. If there were a way to do both, that would be cool,
but there is not. So it is rough. Right now, I just wish I had some more
time off, which I don't have.
FJ:
Twenty-four hours are never enough.
TERENCE
BLANCHARD: No, not at all, Fred.
Fred
Jung is the Editor-In-Chief and believes in the innocence of the Trix
bunny. Comments? Email him.