The Hope College Great Performance Series will host Grammy- and Emmy-nominated jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard and his sextet on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 8 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.
Blanchard has made his name in several areas of music in the past decade, picking up several Grammy nominations, an Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe nomination, and winning the Grand Prix du Disque award in France along the way. "Down Beat" magazine named him the 2000 artist of the year and trumpeter of the year.
In its recent August issue, "The New Yorker" magazine wrote that Blanchard is "...reminding us that few mainstream modernists can touch him when he's at the top of his game."
While jazz performance is his mainstay, Blanchard has emerged as a major player in the world of soundtracks, with more than 30 soundtracks to his credit. He is director Spike Lee's main composer, having written the music for 10 of his films.
Blanchard recently joined the legendary Blue Note Record label and released his first album on that label, titled "Bounce." The album continues the traditions he has created on his earlier recordings, including an album of songs by Jimmy McHugh which included collaborations with jazz singers Diana Krall, Jane Moneheit, Dianne Reeves, and Cassandra Wilson.
His other recordings include four releases with Donald Harrison in the late 1980s, and his solo debut recording, "Terence Blancard," which came out in 1991. He has received Grammy nominations for works on his 2001 release, "Let's Get Lost," the 2000 release, "Wandering Moon," and his work on "The Heart Speaks," and the soundtrack "Mo' Better Blues."
"(Blanchard's) music upholds a jazz tradition of sharp, clear writing that has been languishing since the 1950's," "The New York Times" has said.
His range of work led to his recent appointment as artistic director of the prestigious Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz Performance.
Tickets for the performance will be sold at the theatre lobby box office in the DeWitt Center on Thursday-Friday, Nov. 6-7, and Monday-Thursday, Nov. 10-13, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets may be ordered by calling (616) 395-7890 or purchased by visiting the box office in the DeWitt Center. Tickets are $14 for regular admission, $12 for senior citizens, and $5 for children 18 and under.
The DeWitt Center is located on Columbia Avenue at 12th Street. Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located on College Avenue at 12th Street.
More information on Terence Blanchard may be obtained online at www.terenceblanchard.com or www.hope.edu/arts.