Terence Blanchard: Miles + Coltrane Centennial

Terence Blanchard has been a consistent artistic force for making powerful musical statements concerning painful American tragedies, past and present. A true Renaissance man, Blanchard stands tall as one of jazz’s most esteemed trumpeters and defies expectations by creating a spectrum of artistic pursuits.

Boundary-breaking and genre-defying, Blanchard is recognized globally as a dazzling soloist and a prolific composer for film, television, opera, Broadway, orchestras, and his own ensembles. An eight-time Grammy winner, a two-time Emmy nominee, and a two-time Oscar nominee, Blanchard is only the second African-American composer to be nominated twice in the Original Score category at the Academy Awards.

Despite his wide-ranging talents, Blanchard’s beautiful, provocative, and inspiring jazz endeavors remain his center of gravity. Blanchard has released 20 solo albums, and he performs regularly in multiple configurations. In 2024, he was named an official National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master and was awarded membership to the esteemed American Academy of Arts and Letters. Blanchard currently serves as the Executive Artistic Director for SF Jazz, the largest nonprofit jazz presenter in the world.

2026 marks the centennial birth years of the architects of progressive jazz, Miles Davis and John Coltrane, and Blanchard is celebrating with an exclusive new program, Terence Blanchard: Miles + Coltrane Centennial. With this exceptional program, Blanchard and his band, the E-Collective, bring personal, authentic connections to the music of Davis and Coltrane.

Unlike standard tributes with faithful renditions, this centennial celebration emphasizes innovation and reinterpretation to embody and channel the spirit of innovation and forward thinking that defined both icons. Blanchard’s approach here captures the true essence of jazz: honoring legacy through creative expression and improvisation. Each live concert will be a unique and unrepeatable event.

Special thanks to our Jazz Series sponsor The Village at Germantown.