A Requiem Forged in Grief and Water
Blanchard turns Hurricane Katrina's wreckage into a restrained, deeply felt musical memorial.
This is Terence Blanchard's requiem for the city he grew up in, recorded with his working quintet and released in 2007, two years after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans. It arrives at a point where Blanchard was already well established as a trumpeter and bandleader, and it marks a clear turn toward large-scale, thematic composition rooted in personal and communal loss rather than straight-ahead jazz programming.
The music is disciplined. Blanchard and the band play for the compositions rather than for display, and the solos are short and purposeful. Derrick Hodge's bass and Kendrick Scott's drumming give the record its weight, while Aaron Parks's piano and Brice Winston's saxophone add color without crowding the themes. The short interludes, including the duet between bass and trumpet on "Ghost of Betsy" and the fragmentary tenor on "Ghost of 1927", hold the suite together and keep it from becoming a list of sad tunes.
For a listener, this is a good entry point into Blanchard's more ambitious work, though it asks for patience and a willingness to sit with a mood. Critics responded strongly: Will Layman of PopMatters gave it nine out of ten, praising how every element serves the overall theme. It is not a party record, but as a memorial it is among the more affecting jazz albums of its period.
Who's playing
Derrick Hodgebass
Aaron Parkspiano
Brice Winstonsaxophone
Terence Blanchardtrumpet
Kendrick Scottpercussion
Where next?
More by Terence Blanchard
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