They Shoot, He Scores

Terence Blanchard’s music enlivens films by Spike Lee, Kasi Lemmons, and more.

- KC IFEANYI

Jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard is

one of Hollywood’s preeminent composers, having scored 20 of Spike Lee’s projects— including last year’s BlacKkKlansman, which earned him his first Oscar nomination—and Harriet, Kasi Lemmons’s upcoming biopic of abolitionist Harriet Tubman. Blanchard has also begun experimenting with opera, most recently writing the music for Fire Shut Up in My Bones (based on the New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow’s 2014 memoir),

which premiered at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in June. “I’ve always been a believer that the universe will put things in front of you, and how you react will determine your future,” Blanchard says. Here’s how he’s channeled that improvisational spirit into a melodious career.

NEVER TURN DOWN AN OPPORTUNITY

When Spike Lee asked Blanchard if he could help compose the score for his 1990 jazz drama Mo’ Better Blues, Blanchard quickly said yes. And then he panicked. At that point, Blanchard was a rising jazz musician who had performed background music for Lee’s earlier films, including