The Movie Music of Terence Blanchard is a touring multimedia concert series that combines live orchestral performance, jazz improvisation, digital projection, and cinematic memory. Drawing from more than three decades of original film scores composed by Terence Blanchard—most notably for director Spike Lee—the project reimagines the role of the film score as a central cultural and artistic object, worthy of standalone presentation and reinterpretation.
Performed by Blanchard’s E-Collective and accompanied by symphony orchestras in major venues such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, the series showcases selections from landmark films including Malcolm X, 25th Hour, Inside Man, Da 5 Bloods, and BlacKkKlansman. These scores, renowned for their emotional intensity, sweeping arrangements, and jazz-rooted expressivity, are presented live in dialogue with an ever-evolving cast of guest performers—vocalists, soloists, and spoken-word artists—who expand the narrative and sonic landscape of each performance. The result is a concert experience that blends the intimacy of a jazz club with the grandeur of a symphonic stage and the improvisational energy of a live variety show.
Andrew F. Scott, Art Director, visual design and production,LIVE: Sound & Light Concert (the original class-project presentation of LIVE). Terence Blanchard & E-Collective (Fabian Almazan, piano; Charles Altura, guitar; David Ginyard, bass; Oscar Seaton, drums); Andrew F. Scott & LightSquad (Matt Unkenholz, technical director; Amanda Goodwyn, lighting; Roxanne Minnish, Sarah Wall, photography; Michael Snyder, Ricardo Castrillon, video; students Michael Bradley, Travis Fowler, Ashley Goodenough, James Hoggatt, Kuo-Wei Lee, Denise Lion, Amanda Marder, Paulina Mejia, Morgan Murphy, Victor Simon, Chun Yi Wu); ATEC Lecture Hall, The University of Texas at Dallas, Dallas, TX, April 21, 2017.