Contemporary Cat

"With successful careers as both a jazz musician and a film composer, Terence Blanchard is one of today's foremost artists. He has recorded several award-winning albums and performed with the jazz elite: Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Clark Terry, Ray Brown, and J. J. Johnson. Through interviews with Blanchard, as well as more than thirty music and movie figures, including Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Dave Holland, Dave Grusin, Kasi Lemmons, and Spike Lee, author Anthony Magro traces the unique career of this world-renowned musician.". "While entire chapters are devoted to Blanchard's albums, the films of Spike Lee, and the legendary Art Blakey, this book goes beyond music and movies. It addresses many social views of its artists, such as the decline of African Americans in today's jazz audiences, the narrow depiction and position of blacks in Hollywood, and the doctrines and influence of slain civil rights leaders Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.". "Terence Blanchard and his special guests make for an apt look at jazz's contemporary cats, their music, and their politics, while also providing a behind-the-scenes view of moviemaking in Hollywood."--BOOK JACKET.