Terence Blanchard understands culture as omnidirectional. It’s a perspective rooted in his upbringing in New Orleans, and his illustrious career as a trumpet player. It’s also a conviction that he’s brought to every post — from film composer with Spike Lee to executive artistic director of SFJAZZ to first Black composer at The Metropolitan Opera, where (as he told us), “I don’t want to be a token; I want to be a turnkey.” Blanchard sat down with The Late Set before a concert with his E-Collective at the Exit Zero Jazz Festival, to talk about the way culture flows, and what it means to lead from a place of service.
Watch the conversation (with an Atlantic Ocean backdrop) below:
The Late Set | Turnkey, with Terence Blanchard
