The BSO takes ‘Giant Steps' with John Coltrane tribute by Terence Blanchard and Carlos Simon
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In the past, Blanchard has performed his original music a handful of times alongside both the Boston Pops and his own ensembles, at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood. But this time around, he's playing with the BSO at the invitation of composer chair
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'He's a legend in his own right,' Simon said of Blanchard in a phone interview. 'I thought it would be amazing for him to join and be a part of this presentation, because he's incredible in terms of jazz, and he's very much a part of the legacy of what Coltrane represents, too.'
Simon, the son of a pastor from Atlanta, also sees Coltrane as a personal inspiration. 'I love the way he experimented, and how his music really affected others, and how his life really influenced the music that he was writing,' Simon said.
Portrait of musician Terence Blanchard at his home in New Orleans.
Cedric Angeles
The program includes several of the saxophonist's signature pieces arranged for orchestra, including the tremendously influential 'Giant Steps' and his hypnotic spin on Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'My Favorite Things.' The work of several arrangers, including Simon himself, is represented on the bill. The Washington, D.C.-based composer created orchestral versions of both 'In a Sentimental Mood,' which Coltrane performed on his collaborative album with the tune's composer, Duke Ellington; and the mournful 'Alabama,' composed in response to the 1963
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When listeners first hear Coltrane, Blanchard said, 'You get involved with the theoretical side of his playing, when you think about tunes like 'Countdown' and 'Giant Steps' and 'Moment's Notice.'' Other pieces, like 'Alabama' and 'A Love Supreme,' he continued, 'made me realize how conscious he was as a human being.'
For a significant period, Coltrane struggled with both alcohol and intravenous drug use; his
'He allowed that to be the motivating factor in the rest of his life. You know, I'm always amazed when you see people who make those types of transformations, because it's not easy,' Blanchard said.
'Alabama' especially 'shows how in tune Coltrane was to the world,' Simon said. 'When you listen to that record, it has all the life and the struggles built into the music.'
In addition to holding the composer chair position at the BSO, Simon is currently
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Composer Carlos Simon speaks to an audience at Symphony Hall in 2023.
Aram Boghosian
Asked about the Kennedy Center over the phone, Simon said that he intends his music, such as his Grammy-nominated piece 'Requiem for the Enslaved,' to be 'a reflection of what's happening in the world, and not [be] apologetic about that, just completely unashamed and unafraid of what the outcome may be.' In short: 'I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing.'
Blanchard separately revealed that he'd been in preliminary talks to write something for the National Symphony Orchestra, and 'that's not happening now.' He counted several current and former connections at the center, including the
As an artist, Blanchard said, 'you're always trying to have people reflect and think about current issues,' and in the present moment, doing that is 'paramount to the cause of being an artist.'
That mission is a major reason why Blanchard thinks concerts like the Coltrane tribute are important. For older listeners, Coltrane's music 'helps them reflect and remember a time when civil rights were the things we were fighting for,' he said. At the same time, the trumpeter hopes younger audiences will 'do some homework about not only the music but the time that the music was created and what the country was like' — and in the end, that the next generation will 'want to raise the consciousness of the people who'll listen to
their
music."
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BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Symphony Hall. March 21 and 22, 8 p.m. 617-266-1200,
A.Z. Madonna can be reached at
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