SFJAZZ presents Terence Blanchard E-Collective with the Turtle Island Quartet, performing music from 'A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina)'
Robert M. Miner Auditorium
SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA
7:30 PM, Friday, January 24, 2025

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[7:31 PM] {lights down; Welcome & introduction by Geeta Tate‚ SFJAZZ Director of Development}
[7:33 PM] {enter TISQ + JP}

1. [7:34 PM] Levees »
   [7:37 PM] {enter other members of E-Collective} »
   [7:40 PM] {enter TB about a minute before the end of the tune}
2. [7:40 PM] (unidentified tune #1)
   [7:50 PM] {snazzy JP solo on next}
3. [7:51 PM] Wading Through
4. [7:57 PM] Ashé (Aaron Parks)
   [8:05 PM] {TB singing on next}
5. [8:05 PM] (unidentified tune #2, possibly In Time of Need (Brice Winston))
   [8:14 PM] {Greetings from TB; extended band introduction; TB reviews the first part of the show and back announces a few titles}
6. [8:22 PM] the Water
7. [8:27 PM] (unidentified tune #3)
8. [8:40 PM] Over There (Derrick Hodge)
   [8:48 PM] {TB compares the current LA fires to the Katrina disaster; introduction of the next tune}
9. [8:49 PM] Funeral Dirge
   [8:55 PM] {TB story about reconnecting with his mom after Katrina}
10. [8:58 PM] Dear Mom
    [9:02 PM] {TB yack about the band finding the groove of this last song}
11. [9:02 PM] “A Tale of God's Will” »
    [9:07 PM] {TB early exit? Nope! Off and then back!}
    [9:08 PM] {set ends; all bow‚ then exit}
    
    Encore
    [9:09 PM] {TB thanks the crowd; tells us about waiting to see Prince at Tipitina's}
12. [9:11 PM] Chaos
    [9:25 PM] {final applause} [9:26 PM] {all done!}

Terence Blanchard E-Collective

• Charles Altura: guitar;
• Terence Blanchard: trumpet;
• David Ginyard: 5-string bass;
• Julian Pollack: piano, keyboards;
• Oscar Seaton: drums.

Turtle Island Quartet

• Naseem Alatrash: cello;
• David Balakrishnan: violin;
• Gabe Terracciano: violin;
• Benjamin von Gutzeit: viola.
• Mads Tolling: viola.

I really enjoyed tonight's show. I was surprised that it was so strongly focused on music (with the multimedia presentation taking somewhat of a back seat), and often frustrated that the visual component was more abstract than realistic. For me, that manner of presentation softened the impact of the subject matter. I suppose that could be a way of emphasizing universal values of empathy and caring, but I feel that playing out that angle also diminished the horror of the Katrina catastrophe.

It was a surprise to recognize Mads onstage tonight, and more so seeing him playing viola instead of violin. I don't recall hearing Terence mention anything about Mads subbing for Benni, and a lazy search showed nothing helpful online. Maybe it was a last-minute thing?

Evan Haga posted an interesting promo article in SFJAZZ' On the Corner blog. In addition, SFJAZZ also posted a Zoom Recording of a conversation between Terence Blanchard & David Balakrishnan.

Moreover, tonight's show was live-streamed as part of the SFJAZZ Fridays Live series.

Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery!

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2025 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2025 event list! ☸ On to the next event!