January 01, 2025

Video Playlist: Terence Blanchard's SFJAZZ Singles Picks

For this month's playlist, SFJAZZ Executive Artistic Director and trumpeter-composer Terence Blanchard shares some of his personal favorites from the collection of over 100 SFJAZZ Singles (choice cuts from SFJAZZ's weekly Fridays Live broadcast series).

SFJAZZ Executive Artistic Director Terence Blanchard

KENNY BARRON QUINTET - "BLUE WATERS"

Pianist, composer, and SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director Kenny Barron and his quintet perform his composition “Blue Waters” from his 2018 album “Concentric Circles”.

Terence Blanchard: “For me, Kenny Barron has always been one of the greatest musicians of all time and he's such a low key and very humble and generous person. Just makes sense that he would have a band of young, great talented guys. He was my piano teacher for a little bit when I was at Rutgers University. And one of the things he talked about is how you can color based on how you touch the piano”.

GRETCHEN PARLATO & LIONEL LOUEKE - "I CAN'T HELP IT"

Vocalist Gretchen Parlato and guitarist Lionel Loueke perform Stevie Wonder’s “I Can’t Help It,” originally recorded on Parlato’s 2009 album In a Dream.

TB: “Look, I can't help it, but whenever Lionel starts to play, when we do it at live shows, I'm always beating on my legs, man, because his stuff is so hip, you know, I can't keep still. These are two young musicians who understand the tradition of jazz. You can hear that, you can hear the knowledge of harmony and tradition and all of that stuff. But there's a forward-thinking process to it all that I really love and it's the thing that gets me excited about this.”

MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO - "ATOMIC DOG"

Vocalist, bassist, and composer Meshell Ndegeocello and her band play George Clinton’s classic “Atomic Dog”.

TB: “Only Meshell Ndegeocello can take a tune like that and then make art out of it. She just kind of broke everything down and allowed the words to dictate what was happening with the music.”

AL DI MEOLA – "AVA'S DANCE IN THE MOONLIGHT"

Guitar legend Al Di Meola performs his recent composition” Ava’s Dance in the Moonlight” during his performance as part of the 40th San Francisco Jazz Festival.

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA - "MENDIZORROTZA SWING"

The great Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis perform Wynton’s composition “Mendizorrotza Swing” from the band’s 2010 album Vitoria Suite.

TB: “I love this band. I've always admired Wynton and what he's brought to the table. He's a guy who's never satisfied with the status quo. He understands the history (of jazz) and he's upholding a lot of those traditions with his own voice. And the cool thing about Lincoln Center as an organization, they've kept the big band alive. Think about it, ‘How many big bands do we see?’”

SAMARA JOY – "REINCARNATION"

GRAMMY-winning singer Samara Joy and her band perform the Charles Mingus composition “Reincarnation of a Lovebird”.

TB: “You know, the interesting thing about Samara Joy is that I really think she is proof of reincarnation. This young woman has entered the jazz world with such a maturity to her sound and a certain amount of control over her voice that we haven't seen in a long time.”

INGRID JENSEN QUARTET – "SIGHT UNSEEN"