from The Seattle Times:
It’s no coincidence that Terence Blanchard’s new album “Choices” arrives at a moment when the nation is in the midst of a roiling debate over how to reform the health-care system.
That’s not to say the trumpeter and film composer offers an opinion on whether we should adopt a “public option” for health insurance. But his latest release for Concord Music is very concerned with notions of national dialogue, and questions about how we make decisions as a people.
At its best, jazz embodies a form of radical democracy with every participant shaping the music’s flow in real time. On this recording, however, Blanchard wanted to explore democratic ideas in theme as well as in form.
While most of the tracks on “Choices” are instrumentals, Blanchard programmed the album around spoken-word interludes by Cornel West, the prolific public intellectual, activist and Princeton University professor, while several pieces feature lyrics delivered by neo-soul singer Bilal.
West won’t be on hand at Jazz Alley on Tuesday and Wednesday when Blanchard performs with his blazing young band featuring saxophonist Brice Winston, drummer Kendrick Scott, Cuban-born pianist Fabian Almazan, and Nigerian bassist Michael Olatuja, but his voice will be present via samples triggered by the trumpeter.
Continue reading at The Seattle Times: