
A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina)
2007
Blue Note Records
2008 Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble
“When director Spike Lee tapped Terence Blanchard to compose the score for his 2006 documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, the agony of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was a story they both knew had to be told from a moral standpoint and with cultural credibility. Capturing the hurricane’s sorrowful consequences through music would have to take its final shape more from the attitudes of their minds, the devastation they witnessed, and from the inspiration emanating from the people they would meet during the making of documentary. On A Tale of God’s Will (A Requiem for Katrina), Blanchard uses every principle he has mastered as a genius jazz trumpeter to relay the impact of the destruction, the frustration, the sadness and the hope for a future. Full of his beliefs, sustained and elevated by the power of his purpose, Blanchard, accompanied by his quintet and the Northwest Sinfonia (which he conducted and co-orchestrated), delivers a powerful explanation of the emotions surging through them during this devastating experience.” AllMusic
Terence Blanchard – conductor, trumpet
Brice Winston – soprano sax, tenor sax
Derrick Hodge – double bass, bass guitar
Aaron Parks – piano, orchestration
Kendrick Scott – drums, percussion
Zach Harmon– tabla and happy apple
- Ghost of Congo Square 3:01
- Levees 8:07
- Wading Through 6:27
- Ashé 8:18
- In Time of Need 7:53
- Ghost of Betsy 1:58
- The Water 4:07
- Mantra Intro 3:22
- Mantra 9:49
- Over There 7:43
- Ghost of 1927 1:38
- Funeral Dirge 5:51
- Dear Mom 3:39
Total Length: 69:13
“A Tale of God’s Will is an expansion of the music Blanchard and his band made for the Lee documentary, and it moves with the epic scope of the flood itself. Blanchard, bassist Derrick Hodge and Aaron Parks on piano all turn in great performances. With as much orchestration as the Northwest Sinfonia add to the mix, an extra weight of responsibility falls on the instrumentalists to represent point-of-view. Hodges’ frenetic bass work on the opening track “Tales of Congo Square” moves with the lateral motion of a broken field runner, meshing expertly with Kendrick Scott’s percussion to establish the project’s mood.” John Swenson, Offbeat
Fri, Aug 29
Jazzwise
SputnikMusic
Mon, Sep 1
Offbeat
Offbeat Magazine
“Never have the New Orleans-based trumpeter Terence Blanchard’s dual careers — as jazz bandleader and film composer — dovetailed with such purpose as on A Tale of God’s Will. This ”Requiem for Katrina” blends his score for Spike Lee’s doc When the Levees Broke with new music. Accompanied by an orchestra, Blanchard’s quintet moves elegantly from African rhythms to modern swing to balladic repose, his horn’s curled pleas and soaring declarations channeling both pain and resilience. It’s the Katrina story CNN can’t tell, masterfully told” Larry Blumenfeld, Entertainment Weekly