Composer and trumpeter Terence Blanchard said that “[m]usic and art have the power to change hearts and souls.” It is a belief brought to life through the work of Blanchard and his E-Collective, a revolutionary ensemble that thrives on the perfect mixture of Blanchard’s genius and the innovations of four young musical pioneers: guitarist Charles Altura, pianist Fabian Almazan, bassist David “DJ” Ginyard, Jr., and drummer Oscar Seaton. “This band represents the best of America’s ideals. We’re five very different personalities with different visions who play together for a common goal: creating music that hopefully heals hearts and opens minds.” Blanchard and Seaton began to foster the idea of a band that layered grooves teeming with funk, R&B, and blues colors while recording the scores for Spike Lee’s Inside Man and Kasi Lemmons’ Talk to Me. Years later, that dream came to fruition and formed the foundation for the E-Collective’s signature sound. Heralded as “a trumpeter of expressive urgency and a composer of expansive vision” by the New York Times, Blanchard and the E-Collective are not only a stellar quintet but the natural next dimension for a master trumpeter who has helped shape the contours of modern jazz today. Blanchard was overwhelmed by the healing impact of his music on the audience during a poignant E-Collective performance in Staten Island this past August. In attendance were many friends and family of Eric Garner — a local man who had been fatally injured in an altercation with police and to whom the E-Collective’s debut album, Breathless (2015), is dedicated. Motivated by this experience, the E-Collective’s next album, tentatively titled Caravan, will be recorded live in cities around the country that have been similarly impaired by racial tension. As a multi-Grammy-winning composer and musician, Terence Blanchard extends a jazz tradition that embodies the work of Louis Armstrong and is grounded in their shared hometown of New Orleans, but he has also defined his place in contemporary culture that extends well beyond jazz’s reach.
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