Terence Blanchard scores new film 'Black Or White'

Film soundtracks are not a new thing for New Orleans trumpeter Terence Blanchard. During his career he has scored over 30 movies including ‘Jungle Fever’, ‘Malcolm X’, ‘Summer Of Sam’ and ‘Cadillac Records’. His career in movies began when he played trumpet incognito for Denzel Washington’s lead character in Spike Lee’s film ‘Mo’ Better Blues’ in 1990.

Now Grammy Award-winning Blanchard, confirmed to perform at this year’s Love Supreme Festival, has scored ‘Black or White’ starring Kevin Costner and Octavia Spencer, which is about to show in the US.

‘Black or White’ is filmed in New Orleans. The pair play maternal and paternal grandparents engaged in a custody fight for their granddaughter following a family death.

Blanchard said, “It starts off as kind of like a feel-good story and it ends up as a feel-good story, but it doesn’t shy away from some tough issues.”

The film industry is very healthy in Louisiana at the moment due to incentives with many being shot in and around New Orleans including recently the latest Terminator film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and JK Simmonds, star of ‘Whiplash’. 

Blanchard is delighted with this saying, “it’s sparked the economy, it’s given people jobs. These local workers are getting experience on national and international projects without leaving home, which is really great. The people from elsewhere who are working on film projects, they experience our city and love it. Every time I’ve seen people working on a project in New Orleans, man, I’ve see them hanging out at restaurants, going to hear music.”

Last month Blanchard’s new electric band, the E-Collective, debuted in New York and are set to perform at Love Supreme Festival, 3rd to 5th July at Glynde Place.