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JUDY WOODRUFF: Renowned jazz 
trumpeter Terence Blanchard 
has been nominated for the best

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original score Academy 
Award for his work on the 
film "BlacKkKlansman."

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Tonight, Jeffrey Brown 
continues our feature on Oscar 
nominees as part of Canvas.

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That's our new focus 
on arts and culture.

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JEFFREY BROWN: In the film 
"BlacKkKlansman," we meet police 
officers, members of the KKK,

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various characters.

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And then there's a different 
kind of character, the score, 
composed by Terence Blanchard.

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TERENCE BLANCHARD, Composer: 
The role of the music is to -- 
like, first of all, to bring

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some of those intangible things 
to the fore, if there are 
things that don't -- we can't

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put into words, there's emotions 
we can't really describe, 
but the music is there to

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kind of help us experience that.

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JEFFREY BROWN: "BlacKkKlansman," 
directed by Spike Lee, tells 
the story of Ron Stallworth,

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the first black officer with the 
Colorado Springs police force.

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JOHN DAVID WASHINGTON, Actor: 
Who am I speaking with?

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TOPHER GRACE, Actor: 
This is David Duke.

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JEFFREY BROWN: Played by John 
David Washington, he infiltrates 
a KKK chapter by impersonating

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a white man over the phone.

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JOHN DAVID WASHINGTON: My mouth 
to God's ears, I really hate 
those black rats, and anyone

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else really that doesn't 
have pure white Aryan blood 
running through their veins.

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JEFFREY BROWN: His partner, a 
Jewish officer played by Adam 
Driver, goes undercover to

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gather evidence 
against the Klan.

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It's set in the 1970s, 
but Lee makes direct 
connections to today.

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And it's based on a true story, 
which amazed Terence Blanchard 
when he first joined the

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project.

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: When Spike 
first told me, the first think 
I thought of was, man, you

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need to put the bottle down.

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(LAUGHTER)

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JEFFREY BROWN: Really?

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: Yes.

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I mean...

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JEFFREY BROWN: Like, where is 
this -- you're making this up.

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: Yes, a 
black man infiltrated the 
Klan in Colorado Springs?

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Really?

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That grabbed me.

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JEFFREY BROWN: Blanchard 
has long been known as 
a top jazz musician, 
with six Grammy awards.

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He grew up in New Orleans, began 
playing the piano and Trumpet 
as a youngster, joined the

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Lionel Hampton orchestra while 
still in college, and later 
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers.

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He then went solo, eventually 
heading the group E-Collective.

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But he's also now being 
honored for his decades-long 
work in films, composing 
more than 40 scores.

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He first performed on 
Spike Lee's films "Do 
the Right Thing" and "Mo' 
Better Blues" -- that's

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Blanchard you hear when Denzel 
Washington plays the trumpet 
-- and has scored almost

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every Lee film since "Jungle 
Fever," including "Malcolm X."

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What was the hardest thing 
about learning to write music 
for a film, as opposed to your

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other life?

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: 
The hardest thing was 
putting your ego aside.

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JEFFREY BROWN: Putting 
your ego aside?

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: Yes, because 
I come from a world where 
all the music was about me,

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it was about what 
I wanted to say.

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JEFFREY BROWN: Because you're 
not front and center now.

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: 
No, it's not about me.

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It's really about the story, 
and it's really about helping 
the director tell a story in

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the way he sees fit.

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JEFFREY BROWN: He typically 
begins his work with a first 
cut of the film, after a great

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deal of work by actors, director 
Lee, and another longtime 
collaborator, editor Barry

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Alexander Brown.

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: When they 
hand it to me, it's like a lot 
of things are done, and I'm

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one of the last 
pieces of the puzzle.

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So when you get it, so, 
then you go, oh, my God, 
everybody's done a great job.

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I can't be the guy 
to drop the ball.

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So it inspires me to work hard.

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JEFFREY BROWN: You can make 
it better, or you could 
mess it up, I suppose.

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: 
Or really mess it up.

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(LAUGHTER)

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JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: 
Look for new work.

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JEFFREY BROWN: Yes.

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: Well, the 
thing is, the first thing I 
have to do is let the film tell

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me what it needs, 
because, even though it's 
a great story, there's 
lighting, there's editing,

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there's acting.

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And when I get a cut, with 
Spike, you never know, because 
you can read a scene one way,

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and then he will shoot it 
another way, with emphasis 
on other things in the scene.

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So, when I watch it, the 
pace of it, the look of it, 
it will all speak to me.

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It will say, oh, OK, well, 
it slows down a little bit 
here, maybe we need to pick up

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the pace here.

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Oh, you know what?

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Maybe that's a very powerful 
moment, and maybe we need to 
back away from that and let the

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actor have that moment.

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There are a lot of little 
things like that, that start to 
play a role in how the overall

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thing takes shape.

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The other part of it, too, 
because of Spike's unique love 
for melody, I had to learn how

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to structure those melodies and 
orchestrate them onto dialogue 
in a way that still could

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be heard, but not get in 
the way of the dialogue.

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JEFFREY BROWN: These are things 
that I'm probably not -- I'm not 
aware of as they're happening,

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right?

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: 
You shouldn't be.

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JEFFREY BROWN: I shouldn't be.

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(LAUGHTER)

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: 
Yes, you shouldn't be.

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JEFFREY BROWN: In 
"BlacKkKlansman," Blanchard 
worked with an orchestra, 
as well as his own

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small ensemble, and for 
the first time featured 
the electric guitar.

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: Spike always 
does a great job at giving 
you the taste of the period

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with the source music, you know, 
all of the songs that's there.

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I wanted the score to be 
universal, first of all, but 
still have elements of the '70s,

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and colors of the '70s, and 
that electric guitar was one 
of the ones that we used a

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great deal.

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JEFFREY BROWN: and the 
Oscar nomination, it's 
a first for you, right?

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: Oh, yes, yes.

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JEFFREY BROWN: A lot of 
attention because it's 
the first for Spike 
Lee, after so long.

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: Yes.

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Yes.

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JEFFREY BROWN: Does it 
feel like just a long time 
coming for both of you?

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TERENCE BLANCHARD: I have been 
asked that question a lot.

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And it's hard to answer it, 
because I never expected it.

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You know what I mean?

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I have been telling people 
it's kind of hard to 
miss what you never had.

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It's great.

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It's awesome.

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It's been an 
overwhelming experience.

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It's been a humbling experience.

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I look at this movie as being 
like the culmination of what we 
have been doing for the last 30

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years.

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JEFFREY BROWN: Terence 
Blanchard's next big project?

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He's working on an 
opera, his second.

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For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm 
Jeffrey Brown in New York.