Blanchard Blends Film, Music Careers

It used to be said that when a jazz player was employing rock or other non-jazz elements in his or her music in order to reach a wider audience, the musician was “crossing over.” Hence the label, “crossover artist.”

These days, the phrase could also be applied to jazz musicians who are writing for the screen. A long list of improvisers who compose for movies includes John Williams--in the ‘50s, he was the L.A.-based pianist known as Johnny Williams--Tom Scott, Mark Isham and Terence Blanchard.

Of that group, Blanchard, who has written the film scores to Spike Lee’s “Jungle Fever” and the upcoming “Malcolm X,” is the only one who devotes himself to regular touring and performing. “The trumpet is my thing. It’s who I am,” said the 30-year-old New Orleans native whose new Sony Music album is “Simply Stated” and who appears with his quintet Tuesday through next Sunday at Catalina Bar & Grill in Hollywood.

How does he like mixing the two careers? “Feels like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” he said, laughing. “ ‘Malcolm,’ which I started on last September and for which I just recently completed the stereo mix, took up so much of my time that I didn’t get to play as much as I like, which was a drag sometimes. But all in all, it feels good, feels fine.”

Blanchard, who also orchestrated the “Malcolm” music, which was performed by a 55-piece ensemble, said that he and Lee have developed a solid relationship.

“He’s easy to work with, and we have respect for each other,” said Blanchard, who also appears in the film as a bandleader. “The hardest part of the job was finding a melody for the main theme that was acceptable to Spike. As far as describing music, we use different terms to talk about the same thing, but Spike knows what he wants, and he knows song forms. I’d write something that only lasted a few bars and he’d tell me, ‘You need to extend that.’ ”

Blanchard, who gained notice through his mid-’80s tenure with drummer Art Blakey, says he’s currently adopting an improvisational approach that emphasizes jazz’s fundamentals. “We have to deal with those--melody, harmony, rhythm, swing--before we can venture on,” he said. “It’s just like an actor learning Shakespeare.”

Rim Shots: Saxophonist-composer Ornette Coleman has received a $19,000 grant from Meet the Composer/Rockefeller Foundation/AT&T; Jazz Program to write a 40-minute work for eight to 20 performers to be premiered at the 1993 Los Angeles Festival. Trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater was another MTC recipient, and he will concoct a 30-minute work for a 17-piece band that will be dedicated to the late alto great Cannonball Adderley. The piece will be performed next month at the International Assn. of Jazz Appreciation’s annual festival in Los Angeles. Among the other grantees was percussionist Adam Rudolph, a member of the music faculty at Cal Arts in Valencia, who, with Yusef Lateef, will compose works to be performed at the World Music Institute in New York next year.

In the Bins: Drummer-composer Joe Chamber’s “Phantom of the City” (Candid), recorded “live” at a Manhattan jazz spot, is a pleasing melange of the leader’s originals, such as the lovely ballad “For Miles,” and Wayne Shorter’s dancing “El Gaucho.” Saxman Bob Berg, trumpeter Philip Harper and pianist George Cables offer thoughtful, invigorating instrumental essays. . . . Mulgrew Miller’s “Time and Again” finds the ever-improving pianist’s trio--bassist Peter Washington and drummer Tony Reedus--digging into originals and some standards with considerable verve. Miller, like a good wood craftsman, continues to sand down the rough edges of his style, and his performances are all the more pleasing for the effort. . . . On “The Turning Point” (Birdology), pianist McCoy Tyner’s weighty improvisations and hearty accompaniments are surrounded by a gleaming big band, and the leader pours out extra energy--if you can imagine that--to stay even with this bright backdrop. Tunes such as “Fly With the Wind” and “Passion Dance” are given muscular run-throughs.