New Orleans trumpeter Terence Blanchard got his big break in the 1980s when fellow NOLA trumpet player Wynton Marsalis recommended him or a gig with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He released his first solo album in 1991 and since then has branched out in a whole bunch of directions. He performed on soundtracks for Spike Lee’s films and graduated to scoring his films, then began working for other directors, making him one of the most prominent contemporary film composers.