Renowned for his trumpet prowess and composing skills, seven-time GRAMMY® Award winner Terence Blanchard makes his Severance Music Center debut with Absence, an evening of music honoring his mentor, jazz icon Wayne Shorter. Joined by longtime collaborators the E-Collective and Turtle Island Quartet, Blanchard celebrates both the brilliance of Shorter’s legacy and the inspiration he has given Blanchard, influencing his ever-expanding amalgam of music and storytelling.

EPSG:4326

Terence Blanchard and Friends: A Celebration of Wayne Shorter

Severance Music Center

Join us in welcoming jazz great and celebrated opera composer Terence Blanchard (Fire Shut Up in My Bones and Champion) and an incredible line-up to the Portland Opera stage for this one-night-only celebration. In collaboration with the Portland Opera Orchestra, we'll hear from guest stars for an unforgettable night of musical fusion and ensemble work. 

Portland Opera's Co-Artistic Advisor Karen Slack makes her Portland Opera debut, with guest artist and Portland-favorite Will Liverman. Plus, Maestro Damien Geter (Co-Artistic Advisor and Interim Music Director) makes his Portland Opera conducting debut.

ABSENCE: Terence Blanchard

Keller Auditorium

Two-time Oscar® nominee, six-time Grammy®-winner and 2018 USA Fellow trumpeter/composer Terence Blanchard has been a consistent artistic force for making powerful musical statements concerning pivotal moments in American culture – past and present.

With his current quintet The E-Collective, featured on the score to BlacKkKlansman with a 96-piece orchestra, Blanchard delivered a “soaring, seething, luxuriant score,” The New York Times. Blanchard’s E-Collective has now released three acclaimed records on Blue Note®: GRAMMY®-nominated Breathless (2015), LIVE (2018) and ABSENCE (2021) which also features Turtle Island Quartet. 



Terence Blanchard featuring E-Collective and Turtle Island String Quartet

Meyerson Symphony Center

Celebrated jazz trumpeter and film composer Terence Blanchard pays homage to legendary saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter, the inspiration that has influenced Blanchard’s music and storytelling. Featuring the acclaimed trumpeter with The E-Collective and the Turtle Island Quartet, they will present pieces written by Shorter as well as original compositions by Blanchard and members of his band—resulting in “a lush and dramatic soundscape that calls to mind Blanchard’s career as a successful film composer” (New Yorker).

“I’m proud to have a chance to visit some of the music that has shaped my musical identity,” says Blanchard. “Pairing Wayne Shorter’s music with original works from The E-Collective along with the sonic colors of The Turtle Island Quartet has been an amazing experience. Wayne has said before ‘Jazz means I Dare You,’ so why not dare to be creative and pay homage at the same time,” said Blanchard.

The E-Collective

May 21, 2024

Terence Blanchard and Friends: A Celebration of Wayne Shorter

May 26, 2023

ABSENCE: Terence Blanchard

The E-Collective