Terence Blanchard & Ravi Coltrane

Eight-time Grammy winner and SFJAZZ Executive Artistic Director Terence Blanchard joins saxophonist and composer Ravi Coltrane for a special four-night residency celebrating the centennials of two jazz titans — Miles Davis and John Coltrane — whose legendary partnership defined the sound of modern jazz.

Blanchard, the acclaimed New Orleans trumpeter and 2024 NEA Jazz Master, brings his signature blend of searing trumpet lines and electronic textures alongside a stellar sextet featuring guitarist Charles Altura, pianist Julian Pollack, bassist David Ginyard Jr., and drummer Oscar Seaton. Known for his boundary-crossing artistry that spans from Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers to Academy Award-nominated film scores, Blanchard commands the stage with an intensity that can range from ethereal to overwhelming — whether pointing his trumpet skyward for stratospheric flights or toward the floor for those signature molten blasts.

Ravi Coltrane has forged his own distinctive path as a tenor and soprano saxophonist, establishing "a sound and concepts that stand undeniably on their own, extending far beyond the shadow of his iconic name." The son of John and Alice Coltrane brings three decades of creative exploration, from his early experience with Elvin Jones' Jazz Machine to collaborations with innovators like Steve Coleman's M-Base movement. His Grammy-nominated artistry embraces jazz's past only as a means to communicate his own modern voice.

Together, they'll honor the magical five-year partnership of Miles and 'Trane in Davis's "First Great Quintet" — the group that produced the classic 1956 Prestige releases Cookin', Relaxin', Workin', and Steamin', plus the Columbia landmarks Milestones and Kind of Blue. Expect music that captures both the revolutionary spirit of those groundbreaking recordings and the forward-thinking vision that both Davis and Coltrane embodied as artists "who could hear the future."

This centennial tribute unfolds across four intimate performances in Miner Auditorium, part of an international tour that spans from Boston to Europe's major jazz festivals.