Spike Lee Emcees Retrospective of his Film Work with a Soulful Jazz Performance by Terence Blanchard Quintet and Special Guests at the Kimmel Center,
April 2, 2008
Special Guests Include Vocalists Patti Austin, Musiq Soulchild and Raul Midón
One of Hollywood’s most important and influential filmmakers, Spike Lee will emcee a retrospective of his film work with a soulful jazz performance by the Terence Blanchard Quintet and special guests at the Kimmel Center on Saturday, April 19, 2008 at 8pm in Verizon Hall. The multimedia event celebrates the film scores of powerfully evocative works, which first established Lee’s film career, such as Bamboozled, Inside Man, Clockers, Malcolm X, Jungle Fever, 25th Hour, Mo’ Better Blues, and the recent Emmy Award winning HBO Katrina documentary, When the Levees Broke. Terence Blanchard, Grammy® award winning trumpeter-composer and Lee’s long-time musical collaborator, will lead his jazz quintet, accompanied by a 20 piece orchestra. Special guest vocalists include Philadelphia’s neo soul sensation Musiq Soulchild, Stevie Wonder protégé Raul Midón and Patti Austin, whose album Avant Gershwin won the Grammy® for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2008.
"Blanchard's no-frills, in-the-tradition, testifying trumpet, which is the main solo voice, rings out powerfully and affectingly throughout. He blows like a blues player sings, by turns angry, plaintive, stoic, hopeful and elegiac—and, almost tangibly, always from the heart."
This concert is a special concert in the Mellon Jazz Fridays Series scheduled for the Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season. The next concert in the series will be Western Europe with Danilo Pérez, Gerardo Nuñez and John Patitucci on Saturday, May 3, 2008 at 7:30pm.
Tickets for The Movie Music of Spike Lee & Terence Blanchard are $55, $65, $75 and $85 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
Spike Lee has established himself as one of the most remarkable filmmakers of our time, noted for his films involving controversial social and political issues. He launched his filmmaking career in 1986 with the provocative black and white comedy She’s Gotta Have It, which earned Lee the Prix de Jeunesse Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Lee’s moviemaking success continued with the hit satire School Daze (1988), followed by Do the Right Thing (1989), for which he received an Oscar nomination and a Los Angeles Film Critics Association’s Best Director Award. He continued to explore racial discourse in Jungle Fever (1991) starring Wesley Snipes, and the epic Malcolm X (1992) with Denzel Washington, which became an instant American classic. Lee also collaborated with Denzel Washington in his homage to the jazz lifestyle, Mo’ Better Blues. Other film credits include Crooklyn (1994), critically acclaimed Clockers (1995), Bamboozled (2000), Summer of Sam (2002) and Inside Man (2006). Lee also directed and produced the Emmy winning HBO documentary When the Levees Broke in 2006.
In addition to his feature film credits, Lee is the author of six books about filmmaking as well as Best Seat in the House: A Basketball Memoir. He has directed commercials for Nike, Converse, Jaguar, Taco Bell and Ben & Jerry's and music videos for recording artists such as Prince, Public Enemy, Naughty by Nature and Michael Jackson. In May 2007, Lee was honored with the San Francisco Film Society's Directing Award. In February 2008, he was named the recipient of the Wexner Prize for his evocative portrayals of contemporary issues such as race, sexuality and the American experience. Lee currently teaches film at New York University.
Internationally renowned jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, arranger and film score writer Terence Blanchard began his film scoring career working with Spike Lee on films such as Mo’ Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Clockers, Summer of Sam and Bamboozled as well as Lee’s HBO documentary When the Levees Broke in 2006. In February 2008, Blanchard won his first Grammy® Award as a bandleader for A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina) in the category of Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album. The New Orleans native also appeared in front of the camera with his mother to share their experiences with the devastation. As a trumpeter and bandleader, Blanchard has recorded several award-winning albums, including The Heart Speaks (1996), Wandering Moon (2000), Let's Get Lost (2001), Bounce (2003) and Flow (2005), which was produced by pianist Herbie Hancock and received two Grammy® Award nominations.
Patti Austin crosses all musical genres with more than 15 solo albums to her credit. The daughter of a jazz trombonist and goddaughter of musical legends Quincy Jones and Dinah Washington, she made her stage debut at the age of four, and has since found fame, first as a commercial jingle singer, and then as a prolific musician. In recent years, Austin has performed extensively throughout the Far East, where she is immensely popular. Austin is dedicated to performing for AIDS-related organizations and has appeared in several benefit concerts in San Francisco and Los Angeles. With live performances of material from her Grammy® winning album For Ella (2002), along with her appearances with symphony orchestras throughout the world, Austin continues to create milestones in a remarkable career. In 2008, Austin was nominated for a NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding Jazz Artist.
Philadelphia native Musiq Soulchild’s unique style incorporates R&B, soul, funk, rock, blues, jazz and hip hop. After years of performing at open mics and in jazz clubs, Musiq finally entered the spotlight in 2000 with his platinum debut album, Aijuswanaseing, featuring the popular singles "Just Friends" and "Love," which spent 22 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 charts. Musiq’s 2002 album Juslisen, debuted at number one on Billboard’s charts and quickly went platinum with hit singles "Halfcrazy" and "Dontchange." Also in 2002, Musiq collaborated with fellow Philadelphians, hip-hop band The Roots, on the hit song "Break You Off." He released his third album, Soulstar, in 2003. Musiq has received awards from Billboard, BET, ASCAP, BMI, and Soul Train, as well as award nominations from MTV, American Music Awards and NAACP. In 2008, Musiq was nominated for three Grammy® Awards, including Best Male R&B vocal performance for "B.U.D.D.Y," Best R&B song for "Teach Me" and Best R&B Album for Lovinmusaq.
Blind since birth, New Mexico native Raul Midón began his musical education under the guidance of his father, an Argentine dancer. After graduating from the University of Miami’s highly regarded jazz program, Midón became an in-demand backup singer, working primarily on Latin projects for artists like Julio Iglesias, Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Alejandro Sanz. Having developed a wide-ranging skill set as a singer, writer and guitarist, Midón decided to pursue a solo career in New York City in 2002. In 2005, he entered the spotlight with his original debut album State of Mind. The album, which features a guest appearance by Stevie Wonder, garnered critical acclaim for its fusion of old-school soul, pop, Latin and jazz. He followed it up with an even more memorable song cycle, A World Within a World (2007). Midón also performed the theme song for Spike Lee's 2004 LGBT film, She Hate Me, titled "Adam n' Eve n' Eve" with composer Terence Blanchard.
Kimmel Center Presents 2007/2008 season is sponsored by Citi. Support for the Mellon Jazz Series comes from The Bank of New York Mellon. The Great Orchestra Series is supported by ARC Wheeler. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System and American Express. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. Toyota is the Official Vehicle of Kimmel Center Presents Mellon Jazz, Mellon Jazz Up Close and World & Pop.
The Kimmel Center also receives support from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The William Penn Foundation, The Wachovia Foundation, Verizon Foundation, PNC Foundation, The Philadelphia Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, and the Philadelphia Music Project and Dance Advance, Initiatives of The Pew Charitable Trust administered by The University of the Arts. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte. NBC-10 is a Media Partner for Kimmel Center Presents, and additional media sponsors include WDAS, WRTI, WJJZ, Afro-Pop, WXPN and WXPN's Kids Corner 20th Anniversary.
Free in the Plaza programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from Wachovia Foundation.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS SPONSORED BY CITI
Saturday, April 19, 2008 | 8pm
Verizon Hall
Mellon Jazz Fridays
The Movie Music of Spike Lee & Terence Blanchard
Spike Lee, host
Terence Blanchard, trumpet
Fabian Almazan, piano
Brice Winston, saxophone
Derrick Hodge, bass
Kendrick Scott, drums
With special guests
Patti Austin, vocals
Musiq Soulchild, vocals
Raul Midón, vocals
FREE AT THE KIMMEL:
Saturday, April 19, 2008 | Noon
Commonwealth Plaza Stage
Dream Flags Project 5th Anniversary Performance
Inspired by the poetry of Langston Hughes and the tradition of Nepalese Buddhist prayer flags, The Dream Flag Project is an annual poetry/art/community-connection project for students in kindergarten to 12th grade. Since its inception in the spring of 2003, the project has spread to more than 34 schools in Pennsylvania and beyond—from Portland to Palm Beach. And it’s still spreading. To date, more that 6,000 students in eight states have made Dream Flags—more than a mile of flags!
Saturday, April 19, 2008 | 6:30pm
Commonwealth Plaza Stage
Justin Faulkner Ensemble
Join us in the Plaza for a performance by the Justin Faulkner Ensemble prior to the ticketed performance of The Movie Music of Spike Lee & Terence Blanchard in Verizon Hall.
> index of news releases
> For more information, and to request high resolution images for press use, please
send us a message online.