DSO's Paradise Jazz Series kicks off with Terence Blanchard, Tarriona "Tank" Ball, and the Turtle Island Quartet, October 14

DSO’s Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair Terence Blanchard returns to Orchestra Hall with a special program featuring Tarriona “Tank” Ball and the Turtle Island Quartet

Subscriptions starting at $114 and single tickets on sale now at dso.org/jazz

Detroit, (September 28, 2022) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will open its 2022-2023 Paradise Jazz Series with a performance by Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair Terence Blanchard. Blanchard will be joined by New Orleans-based vocalist and poet Tarriona “Tank” Ball and the Grammy Award-winning Turtle Island Quartet for this one-night-only performance on Friday, October 14 at 8 p.m. at Orchestra Hall.

An Oscar nominee and six-time Grammy Award-winner, Blanchard has been a consistent artistic force for expressing powerful musical statements about the American experience. He has composed a rich, expansive repertory of scores for Spike Lee films, from the epic Malcolm X and When the Levees Broke—a documentary about the devastation from Hurricane Katrina to Blanchard's hometown of New Orleans—to Lee’s most recent film, Da 5 Bloods. Blanchard interweaves melodies that create strong backdrops to human stories, evidenced by the new program he will present for this performance.

Please note: the DSO will not be featured on this performance.

Tickets for this performance start at $19. Tickets can be purchased at dso.org or by calling the Box Office at 313.576.5111, open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Subscriptions are on sale now for the 2022-2023 Paradise Jazz Series on dso.org/jazz, beginning at $114 for the entire season.

Currently in its 23rd season, the Paradise Jazz Series is named for and honors the legacy of the Paradise Theatre, the historic Detroit jazz venue that was on the site of Orchestra Hall from 1941-1951. The DSO is one of few major American orchestras to present regular jazz programming on its main stage. Learn more about the series at dso.org/jazz.

2022-2023 SEASON DSO SAFETY POLICIES: The DSO no longer requires audiences to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to attend performances. Masks are optional although strongly recommended at DSO performances, particularly when Wayne County and surrounding communities are in the high or "red" category as defined by the CDC. The DSO asks audience members to do their part to create a safe environment for everyone and encourages those who are not feeling well to stay home. For those who are unable to attend, the DSO offers ticket donations, exchanges, and credit for future performances this season.

The Paradise Jazz Series is supported by Huntington, MGM Grand Detroit, and DownBeat Magazine.

TERENCE BLANCHARD WITH TARRIONA “TANK” BALL & THE TURTLE ISLAND QUARTET
Paradise Jazz Series
Friday, October 14 at 8 p.m.
Terence Blanchard, trumpet
Tarriona “Tank” Ball, vocalist
Turtle Island Quartet, string quartet
Orchestra Hall
Oscar nominee, six-time Grammy Award-winner, and the DSO's Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair Terence Blanchard has been a consistent artistic force for expressing powerful musical statements about the American experience.

He has composed a rich, expansive repertory of scores for Spike Lee films, from the epic Malcolm X and When the Levees Broke—a documentary about the devastation from Hurricane Katrina to Blanchard's hometown of New Orleans—to Lee’s most recent film, Da 5 Bloods. Blanchard interweaves melodies that create strong backdrops to human stories.

--------

About Terence Blanchard
Trumpeter, bandleader, composer, and educator Terence Blanchard has served as the DSO’s Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Chair since 2012. Blanchard has performed and recorded with many of jazz’s superstars and currently leads the celebrated E-Collective. He is also well-known for his decades-long collaboration with filmmaker Spike Lee, scoring more than 15 of Lee’s movies since the early 1990s. 2018’s BlacKkKlansman earned Blanchard his first Academy Award nomination, with a second Academy Award nomination in 2021 for Da 5 Bloods. In and out of the film world, Blanchard has received 14 Grammy nominations and six wins, as well as nominations for Emmy, Golden Globe, Sierra, and Soul Train Music awards.

A New Orleans native, Blanchard was childhood friends with Wynton Marsalis and studied jazz at Rutgers University. He was invited to play with the Lionel Hampton Orchestra in 1982 and later joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He debuted his first solo recording in 1991 and has released more than a dozen acclaimed albums since; he has appeared as a collaborator or sideman on a dozen more. Blanchard’s latest album with the E-Collective, Absence, features music written and inspired by jazz legend Wayne Shorter and was released by Blue Note Records in August 2021.

Blanchard has held artistic leadership positions at the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, Monterey Jazz Festival, Berklee College of Music, and Henry Mancini Institute at the University of Miami.

Learn more at terenceblanchard.com.

About Tarriona “Tank” Ball
Tarriona “Tank” Ball is a vocalist, poet, and front woman for New Orleans-based band Tank and the Bangas.

Tank and the Bangas rose to prominence in 2017 following their unanimous NPR Music Tiny Desk Contest victory. In 2019, the band released their major label debut, Green Balloon, on Verve Forecast to widespread critical praise. In 2021, Tank and The Bangas released their EP Friend Goals, featuring CHIKA, Duckwrth, and PJ Morton.

The group has performed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Austin City Limits, and The Today Show. Tank and The Bangas have sold out venues both stateside and abroad, including festival appearances at Coachella, Glastonbury, Bonnaroo, Newport Jazz Festival, and more.

As a poet, Ball has most recently toured the United States with spoken word performances in support of her debut poetry book, Vulnerable AF.

About Turtle Island Quartet
Since its inception in 1985, the Turtle Island Quartet (TIQ) has been a singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings. Winner of the 2006 and 2008 Grammy Awards for Best Classical Crossover Album, Turtle Island fuses the classical quartet esthetic with contemporary American musical styles, and by devising a performance practice that honors both, the state of the art has inevitably been redefined. Cellist nonpareil Yo-Yo Ma has proclaimed TIQ to be “a unified voice that truly breaks new ground—authentic and passionate—a reflection of some of the most creative music-making today.”

The Quartet’s birth was the result of violinist David Balakrishnan’s brainstorming explorations and compositional vision while completing his master’s degree program at Antioch University West. The journey has taken Turtle Island through forays into folk, bluegrass, swing, be-bop, funk, R&B, new age, rock, hip-hop, as well as music of Latin America and India—a repertoire consisting of hundreds of ingenious arrangements and originals. It has included over a dozen recordings on labels such as Windham Hill, Chandos, Koch, Telarc, and Azica, soundtracks for major motion pictures, TV and radio credits such as The Today Show, All Things Considered, Prairie Home Companion, and Morning Edition, feature articles in People and Newsweek magazines, and collaborations with famed artists such as trumpeter Terence Blanchard, clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, vibraphonist Stefon Harris, guitar legends such as Leo Kottke and the Assad brothers, The Manhattan Transfer, pianists Billy Taylor, Kenny Barron, Cyrus Chestnut, and Ramsey Lewis, singers Tierney Sutton and Nellie McKay, the Ying Quartet and the Parsons, and Luna Negra Dance Companies.

Another unique element of Turtle Island is their revival of venerable improvisational and compositional chamber traditions that have not been explored by string players for nearly 200 years. At the time of Haydn’s apocryphal creation of the string quartet form, musicians were more akin to today’s saxophonists and keyboard masters of the jazz and pop world, i.e., improvisers, composers, and arrangers. Each Turtle Island member is accomplished in these areas of expertise.

As Turtle Island members continue to refine their skills through the development of repertory by some of today’s cutting-edge composers, through performances and recordings with major symphonic ensembles, and through a determined educational commitment, the Turtle Island Quartet stakes its claim as the quintessential ‘New World’ string quartet of the 21st century. For a more detailed historical narrative of the Turtle Island Quartet, click here. 

About the DSO
The most accessible orchestra on the planet, the acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra is known for trailblazing performances, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and a deep connection to its city. As a community-supported orchestra, generous giving by individuals and institutions at all levels drives the continued success and growth of the organization. In January 2020, Italian conductor Jader Bignamini was named the DSO’s next music director to commence with the 2020-2021 season. Celebrated conductor, arranger, and trumpeter Jeff Tyzik is the orchestra’s Principal Pops Conductor, while Oscar-nominated trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard holds the Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair.

Making its home at historic Orchestra Hall within the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, the DSO offers a performance schedule that features PVS Classical, PNC Pops, Paradise Jazz, and Young People’s Family Concert series. One of the world’s most acoustically perfect concert halls, Orchestra Hall celebrated its centennial in 2019-2020. In addition, the DSO presents the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series in seven metro area venues, as well as a robust schedule of eclectic multi-genre performances in its mid-size venue The Cube, constructed and curated with support from Peter D. & Julie F. Cummings.

A dedication to broadcast innovation began in 1922, when the DSO became the first orchestra in the world to present a live radio broadcast of a concert and continues today with the groundbreaking Live from Orchestra Hall series of free webcasts, which also reaches tens of thousands of children with the Classroom Edition expansion. With growing attendance and unwavering philanthropic support from the people of Detroit, the DSO actively pursues a mission to embrace and inspire individuals, families, and communities through unsurpassed musical experiences.