''The Malcolm X Jazz Suite'' is a studio album by American jazz trumpeter

Terence Blanchard Terence Oliver Blanchard (born March 13, 1962) is an American trumpeter and composer. He started his career in 1982 as a member of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, then The Jazz Messengers. He has composed more than forty film scores and performed ...

. The album was released on April 20, 1993 via Columbia.

Background

Blanchard acted as the composer and orchestrator for

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

's last two films: '' Jungle Fever'' and

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of I ...

. Blanchard took the strongest themes from the latter movie and rearranged them for the present jazz quintet sessions. Bassist Tarus Mateen, tenor saxophonist Sam Newsome, pianist Bruce Barth, and drummer Troy Davis each also participated in the original ''Malcolm X'' project. In 1994, the album was nominated for

Soul Train Music Award for Best Jazz Album This page lists the winners and nominees for the Soul Train Music Award The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual music awards show which previously aired in national broadcast syndication, and honors the best in African-American culture, music and ...

Critical reception

Scott Yanow of

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

stated "Trumpeter Terence Blanchard continues to grow and develop with each year. He wrote the score for Malcolm X and this set finds him exploring 11 of his themes from the movie with his quintet... Many moods are explored and the fresh material really invigorates the quintet. Newsome's Trane-isms blend well with Blanchard (whose range has become quite impressive) and the performances (which easily stand apart from the film) are quite memorable. It's one of Terence Blachard's finest recordings."

David Hajdu David Hajdu (; born March 1955) is an American columnist, author and professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He was the music critic for ''The New Republic'' for 12 years and is music editor at ''The Nation''. Biography ...

of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cu ...

'' added "Most important, like the rarest of movie music (including the classic jazz soundtracks by Eddie Sauter), The Malcolm X Jazz Suite looks fine without the movie".

of ''

'' noted "Adapted from his music for Spike Lee’s Malcolm X, this ambitious suite by young trumpeter Terence Blanchard evokes both X generations: Malcolm’s, by mimicking — I mean, paying homage to — the brooding, modal, small-band jazz that Miles Davis was making at the time of Malcolm’s rise; and Blanchard’s, by meandering along without much regard for structural tradition." Zan Stewart of ''

The Los Angeles Times ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' commented "Do tunes taken from a movie score serve as a solid basis for a thematic quintet album? Not always, as trumpeter-composer Blanchard's latest project illustrates".

Track listing

Personnel

Bruce Barth Bruce David Barth (born September 7, 1958) is a jazz pianist, composer, and producer. Early life Barth was born in Pasadena, California, on September 7, 1958. He started to play the piano around the age of five. He had private jazz lessons wit ...

– piano *Terence Blanchard – composer, producer, trumpet *Troy Davis – drums * Tarus Mateen – bass *

Sam Newsome Sam Newsome (born April 28, 1965) is an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and educator. His music combines straight-ahead jazz, world music (drawing influences from North Africa and East Asia) and experimental jazz, which uses extended techni ...

– sax (tenor) ;Production *Joel Zimmerman – art direction, design *Robin Burgessco – producer *

James P. Nichols James P. Nichols is an American recording industry executive producer and master engineer. Education Nichols' involvement in the recording industry began in 1973 when after studying recording at The New School for Social Research, he obtained an ...

– engineer *Dr. George Butler – executive producer *Robin Burgess – management *Hans Neleman – photography

Chart performance

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Malcolm X Jazz Suite 1993 albums Terence Blanchard albums Columbia Records albums Cultural depictions of Malcolm X