Terence Blanchard, Bilal And Dr. Cornel West - 'Choices'

LOS ANGELES (Top40 Charts/ Concord Jazz) - Concord Jazz is proud to announce the signing of three-time Grammy award winning trumpet player and composer Terence Blanchard. With more than 29 albums to his credit, Blanchard has established himself as one of the most influential jazz musicians and film score composers of his generation. Blanchard's new album Choices will be released on August 18, 2009.

Blanchard's legacy has helped shaped the contours of modern jazz. As a musician he is a multi-Grammy Award winner, most recently winning earlier this year for his instrumental solo for 'Be-Bop' on Live At The 2007 Monterey Jazz Festival. In addition to receiving the award, Blanchard performed live on the Grammy telecast along with other New Orleans artists including Lil' Wayne, Allen Toussaint and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and singer Robin Thicke. In 2008, Blanchard won a Grammy for his CD, A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina), a beautifully haunting and impassioned song cycle about Hurricane Katrina and the ravages incurred upon the City of New Orleans and its residents.

Blanchard's Concord debut, Choices, was recorded in his hometown of New Orleans at the Ogden Museum of Art. The album addresses the choices we all make in life - both as a society and on a personal level. Blanchard will premiere the project at the Ogden in late July, and the show will be filmed for an upcoming documentary. Accompanying Blanchard on the album are longstanding band members Fabian Almazan on piano, Derrick Hodge on bass, Kendrick Scott on drums, Lionel Loueke on guitar and newcomer Walter Smith lll on saxophone, all of whom significantly contributed to the album's compositions. Guest artists on Choices include writer, speaker, educator and activist Dr. Cornel West and singer, musician and composer Bilal. West performs spoken word pieces on the album with Bilal providing vocals on several of the tracks.

"It's good to be back where I originally started my career. I'm excited about the possibilities of working with a staff that has the same passion for music and creativity as I do. At Concord, I feel we both look forward to an exciting future of creating new traditions in jazz," said Terence.

'Terence is the quintessential jazz artist. He uses his extraordinary talent and creativity to constantly break new musical ground and explore new horizons,' said John Burk, Chief Creative Officer of Concord Music Group. 'We are extremely honored to welcome him back to the Concord family.'

Terence and his band will be touring worldwide in support of the new release.