TRUMPETER TERENCE BLANCHARD OPENS THE 2026-2027 PARADISE JAZZ SERIES WITH A DISAPPOINTING TRIBUTE TO MILES DAVIS AND JOHN COLTRANE

If I could have asked the jazz trumpeter Terence Blanchard one question after the opening concert of the 2026–2027 Paradise Jazz Series—a tribute to Miles Davis and John Coltrane—it would be this: How do you honor Coltrane without performing any of his music? During Friday's 90-minute concert at Detroit's Orchestra Hall, Blanchard played none of Coltrane's signature compositions. It was the second time I had seen his Davis-Coltrane tribute. The first, in February at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, even featured Coltrane's son Ravi on saxophone, but it also omitted Coltrane's music. At neither concert did Blanchard discuss the two musicians' influence on jazz. In Detroit, Blanchard led drummer Oscar Seaton Jr., guitarists Charles Altura and Alex Smith, and pianist Tom Oren, with Joshua Redman as guest saxophonist. The set drew heavily from Davis's “Kind of Blue,” reimagining its songs with a modern electronic sound. By opening with his own “Flow,” Blanchard signaled he wouldn't approach Davis's classics conventionally—and that was fine. After the band tore through the piece, Redman joined them and quickly became the highlight of an otherwise disappointing tribute. His multilayered solos animated “Flamenco Sketches,” “All of Us,” “Teo,” “All Blues,” and “Someday My Prince Will Come.” Because Coltrane helped immortalize many of these Davis compositions, perhaps Blanchard believed this was a way of honoring the legends without playing any Coltrane originals. Redman, to his credit, never resorted to imitation. Although the concert's premise felt misleading, Blanchard still produced flashes of brilliance, soaring into the trumpet's upper register and at times aiming the horn toward the stage and blowing with sandblasting force. Seaton, by contrast, often sounded as though he were performing a separate concert; his drumming was needlessly loud and ostentatious. Midway through the set, another question emerged: If Blanchard intended to electrify Davis's hard-bop classics, why not perform music from “Bitches Brew,” “In a Silent Way, and “On the Corner?” By the end of the concert, I was also wondering whether, despite his brilliance and achievements, Blanchard was the right musician to lead a tribute to Davis and Coltrane. Redman's magnificent playing offered some redemption, but the concert remained a colossal disappointment. Blanchard owes listeners an explanation for leaving Coltrane's music out of a tribute bearing his name.