Terence Blanchard
& E-Collective Visits
NPR’s Tiny Desk
BY DAN MICHAEL
Trumpeter, bandleader and composer Terence Blanchard took his E-Collective band to give a live performance in front of NPR’s Tiny Desk cameras. The video features Blanchard, Fabian Almazan (piano), Charles Altura, Donald Ramsey (bass) and Oscar Seaton (drums) performing songs from their latest Breathless album. A few of ya’ll might recall our interview with Blanchard himself a few months ago when he explained the meaning of his latest album’s title:
The whole idea behind the music is to hopefully change the hearts and minds about what’s going on with African American as well as Latino youth and the how they’re treated by law enforcement in this country.
People have been asking me whether it will create a dialogue, but I don’t want it to create a dialogue. We’ve talked too much about this. It’s time for laws and policy to change. It’s time for people to go jail for wrongdoing. It’s time for people who know what’s right to stand up for what’s right and stand against what’s wrong. It’s just that simple.
The general public is not stupid. There’s too many people and instances where people have lost their lives and law enforcement has sat down and tried to justify it all. Well, that has to stop. If it doesn’t stop, something dangerous and something catastrophic can happen.
Scroll down to watch Terence Blanchard and E-Collective’s Tiny Desk performance below. Purchase Breathless via iTunes.