ABSENCE
featuring the E-Collective & Turtle Island QuartetOne jazz legend celebrates another.
21/22 Hop PresentsAn icon of the New Orleans jazz scene, a composer of over 40 Hollywood film scores, and now the first African American to stage an opera at the Met, Terence Blanchard has rocked every part of the music world. In ABSENCE, he celebrates his mentor and towering jazz genius Wayne Shorter. With a career encompassing 50 years of jazz innovation, Shorter's legacy has influenced Blanchard's ever-expanding amalgam of music and storytelling. Blanchard convenes the enchanting Turtle Island Quartet along with his acclaimed band the E-Collective, featuring young musical pioneers Charles Altura on guitar, Taylor Eigsti on piano and synthesizers, Oscar Seaton on drums, and David "DJ" Ginyard on bass.
Enjoy this special evening featuring arrangements of Shorter's original work as well as new compositions from Blanchard that continue to expand on the reservoir of E-Collective tunes. The string quartet is uniquely equipped for the full range of color and expression of the Blanchard sonic and stylistic sphere.
Generously supported by the Bob Gatzert 1951 Jazz Series Fund and the Lewis Pace Poag 1972 Fund
Photo: Katie Sikora Photography
Listen to ABSENCE single on Spotify:
Terence Blanchard
Since the multiple Grammy-winning trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard embarked on his solo recording career with his eponymous Columbia Records album in 1991, the New Orleans-born and -based artist has traveled many paths musically. He has delivered adventurous and provocative acoustic jazz outings of original material, composed over 50 soundtracks and created the expansive Champion: An Opera in Jazz and Fire Shut Up In My Bones. In his latest albums: Breathless (2015) and LIVE (2018), Blanchard powerfully and playfully journeys into another jazz realm with his new quintet, The E-Collective—an exciting zone of grooved fusion teeming with funk, R&B and blues colors. Learn more about Terence Blanchard >
Taylor Eigsti
New York-based pianist and composer Taylor Eigsti started playing the piano when he was four years old. Growing up, Eigsti was quickly labeled a prodigy, and has since released 7 albums as a bandleader, in addition to appearing on over 50 albums as a sideman. Eigsti has garnered multiple individual GRAMMY Award nominations over the years for his work as a recording artist and composer, including Best Instrumental Composition, and Best Jazz Instrumental Solo. Eigsti also co-wrote a featured composition with Don Cheadle for the 2017 GRAMMY-winning soundtrack to the motion picture Miles Ahead. Learn more about Taylor Eigsti >
Charles Altura
Charles Altura is an unusually gifted young guitarist with a sensitive approach on the guitar. The California native has toured with Chick Corea & the Vigil since 2012, and appears on Corea's most recent album The Vigil. Altura can also be heard on Ambrose Akinmusire's latest album, The Imagined Savior Is Far Easier To Paint. Learn more about Charles Altura >
David Ginyard
David "DJ" Ginyard, bassist, attended Berklee College of Music.
Oscar Seaton
Oscar Seaton got his first major break playing with Ramsey Lewis in 1996. Since Lewis, Oscar has played, recorded and toured with artists such as Grover Washington Jr., David Sanborn, Joe Sample, Kirk Whalum, Phil Upchurch, Yolanda Adams, George Benson, Lionel Richie and Mike Post to name a few. Oscar's impeccable timing has earned him the name "SEATPOCKET." Learn more about Oscar Seaton >
Turtle Island Quartet
Since its inception in 1985, the Turtle Island Quartet has been a singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings. Winner of the 2006 and 2008 Grammy Awards for Best Classical Crossover Album, Turtle Island fuses the classical quartet aesthetic with contemporary American musical styles, and by devising a performance practice that honors both, the state of the art has inevitably been redefined. Cellist nonpareil Yo-Yo Ma has proclaimed TIQ to be "a unified voice that truly breaks new ground–authentic and passionate–a reflection of some of the most creative music-making today." Learn more about Turtle Island Quartet >
Resources
Download the playbill In the News
Terence Blanchard's Met Opera Debut Is A Singular Achievement And A Shared Success
Terence Blanchard's Fire Shut Up in My Bones is the first opera by a Black composer presented by the Metropolitan Opera in the New York institution's 138-year existence.
A Black Composer Finally Arrives at the Metropolitan Opera
Terence Blanchard, best known for scoring Spike Lee films, reopens the 138-year-old opera company with "Fire Shut Up in My Bones."
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