A few months back when the Stanford Jazz Festival announced trumpeter Terence Blanchard as the opening act it looked like a smart move for the summer concert series, which runs June 23-August 5.
With the news breaking on June 8 that the seven-time Grammy Award-winner and two-time Oscar nominee had been tapped by SFJAZZ to replace the organization’s founder Randall Kline as executive artistic director, Blanchard’s booking took on the aura of brilliance.
Already a groundbreaking artist whose creative endeavors encompass popular culture and the most exclusive realms, Blanchard is ideally equipped to expand SFJAZZ’S mission as an educator, bandleader and composer. The fact that the announcement came just weeks after the Metropolitan Opera presented his first opera, “Champion,” which followed last year’s celebrated premiere of Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” the Met’s first-ever production by an African-American composer, highlighted in neon his singular reach.
Saturday’s Bing Concert Hall performance offers another glimpse at Blanchard’s abiding interest in expanding the palette available for jazz-inspired composers. He performs with his E-Collective and the Turtle Island Quartet, the Bay Area jazz string ensemble that collaborated with the E-Collective on the 2021 album “Absence.”
His relationship with violinist David Balakrishnan, Turtle Island’s co-founder and director, has deepened and expanded as the two groups have toured widely together. And when the opportunity to distill the music from “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” came up as part of Blanchard’s SFJAZZ Center residency last summer he turned to Balakrishnan to distill the score.
In a brief conversation after word about his SFJAZZ appointment leaked, Blanchard talked about the challenge he’d face balancing his new gig with his work as a bandleader, film composer and barrier-busting opera composer (“It’s going to be an adjustment period,” he said drily). While easing into the position over the next six months he’s bringing a lot of ideas to the SFJAZZ table, including expanding the center’s state-of-the-art technology and spotlighting artists he believes more should be heard from, like trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire and E-Collective guitarist Charles Altura. “Being from the Bay Area, from Berkeley, it would be a perfect place for him to do a residency,” Blanchard said.
Blanchard’s deep ties to the Stanford Jazz Workshop, which produces the Stanford Jazz Festival, offer another promising avenue for his SFJAZZ tenure.
Details: Blanchard performs with the E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet at 7:30 p.m. June 24 at Bing Concert Hall, Stanford University; $30-$110.
Tickets, a full schedule and more information are at stanfordjazz.org.
Here are several other not-to-miss concerts coming up at the festival.
Indian Jazz Journey with Mahesh Kale & George Brooks: Maharashtra-born, Mountain View-based vocalist Mahesh Kale made his North American debut with Brooks at the festival in 2016, just as his star was rising in India. They’ve returned to Stanford several times since then, and like at last year’s concert, they’ll be joined by the extraordinary 30-year-old raga-jazz pianist Ustav Lal, who was born and raised in Delhi and now lives in Brooklyn. The percussion tandem of U.S.-born, Calcutta-based tabla expert Mayookh Bhaumik and Berkeley drummer Scott Amendola embodies the concert’s East-meets-West dynamic.
Details: 4 p.m. June 25; Dinkelspiel Auditorium; $56-$62.
Sullivan Fortner Trio plus Anat Cohen: Ask a veteran pianist to name the rising keyboard colleague they’re most impressed by and the answer is likely to be New Orleans-reared Sullivan Fortner. After seeing him him play solo at the Bimhuis in Amsterdam, Brad Mehldau described him thusly on Facebook: “deep on all levels — touch, counterpoint, utter relaxation, swing, transparency of ideas, no matter how dense the texture. He takes you through the whole emotional spectrum, unabashed joy included.” He’s mostly been heard in the Bay Area accompanying vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant, and this concert is a welcome opportunity to catch him leading his trio. Israeli clarinet star Anat Cohen joins the threesome as a special guest, then returns to Dinkelspiel July 29 with Brazilian guitar master Romero Lubambo for a double bill that also features Cuban pianist Harold López-Nussa with trumpeter Mike Rodriquez.
Details: 7:30 p.m. July 22; Dinkelspiel Auditorium; $52-$62
‘Cantar’ — Dafnis Prieto featuring Luciana Souza: Cuban drummer and composer Dafnis Prieto introduced a whole new musical facet last year with his album “Cantar,” which focuses on his original songs interpreted by the great Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza (who also contributed lyrics on several pieces). The Bay Area premiere of “Cantar” features multi-wind player Peter Apfelbaum, Martin Bejerano on piano and vocals and bassist Matt Brewer.
Details: 8 p.m. July 30, Dinkelspiel Auditorium; $52-$62
George Cables Trio: At 78, Cables is jazz royalty who revels in keeping company with creatively rambunctious peers, both in the all-star collective The Cookers and his own combos. He returns to Stanford with an exceptional cast, including bassist Eric Revis, drummer Nasheet Waits, saxophonist Caroline Davis and trumpeter Terell Stafford (who leads his own quintet at Dinkelspiel Aug. 2).
Details: 8 p.m. July 31, Dinkelspiel Auditorium; $52-$62
Sounds, Swing and Groove, featuring Patrice Rushen: The festival’s website doesn’t explain exactly what’s going to be happening at this presentation, but any opportunity to catch pianist, composer, vocalist and producer Patrice Rushen in action is golden. Among the intriguing mix of musicians joining her are alto saxophonist Logan Richardson, drummer Dafnis Prieto, bassist Matt Brewer, and Redwood City-raised trombonist Dana Leong, a Stanford University graduate too little heard in the Bay Area over the past decade.
Details: 8 p.m. Thursday Aug. 3, Dinkelspiel Auditorium; $52-$62
Contact Andrew Gilbert at jazzscribe@aol.com.
Source: www.mercurynews.com