• Celebrity
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • Wellness House
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK WOMEN COME FIRST

Every day we're serving Black women deeply. Come get a plate of goodness! Sign up for daily content and exclusive offers you'll love!

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and that you have read our Privacy Policy
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • Paint The Polls Black
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • Wellness House
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · music

Meet The Black Composers Behind The Music Of Today's Biggest Films

Increasingly, talents like Terence Blanchard, Kris Bowers and Amanda Jones are having their say on the soundtracks of major movie projects.
Meet The Black Composers Behind The Music Of Today’s Biggest Films
By Sheryl Nance-Nash · Updated January 5, 2022

Black composers are still a rarity in the entertainment industry—but, increasingly, these talents are having their say on the soundtracks of films and TV shows.

This year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made history with the nomination of two films with Black composers for Best Original Score—Da 5 Bloods and Soul, which won the Oscar. But these projects are only a sampling of the sonic genius crafted by Black tunesmiths. Meet three you should know. 

This article originally appears in the November/December issue of ESSENCE on newsstands now.

01
Kris Bowers

Bowers scored Respect, The U.S. vs. Billie Holiday and King Richard. Working on the biopic about Venus and Serena Williams’ dad resonated with the pianist, whose own father heard piano music on the radio once and told Bowers’ mother their son would be a musician. By age 8, Bowers was deep in lessons. “Dad would question my teachers after class and sit with me when I practiced at home until I was 15,” he recalls.

Like the Williams sisters, Bowers, 32, grew up in Compton with parents who sacrificed so he could excel. He’s grateful for the role they’ve played in his success, as well as the blueprint laid by predecessors like Oscar-winning producer Quincy Jones. “Growing up, there were only a couple of composers that looked like us,” he notes. “I hope this new generation can show other paths for musical gifts.”

Meet The Black Composers Behind The Music Of Today’s Biggest Films
02
Amanda Jones

Jones is busier than ever after last year’s historic Primetime Emmy nomination. She became the first African-American woman nominated for Outstanding Music Composition for Documentary or Special Series, for “Maine”—an episode of Apple TV+’s Home. “The nomination changed everything,” Jones admits. “It’s a stamp of approval, showing that I can get the job done.”

Her plate quickly filled up with projects like A Black Lady Sketch Show and Good Trouble—but for the composer, Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street stands out. “It was the first time I had an opportunity to write for a larger orchestral palate,” she explains. “I got to stretch my creative muscles.”

Jones is also reaching back to open the door for others. As cofounder of the Composers Diversity Collective, she’s building awareness of the musical talent within communities of color. “It’s not unusual to be the only non-white person on a project,” she says. “We’re trying to knock down doors.”

Up next for Jones are assignments on BET’s Twenties and Somebody Somewhere for HBO. Says the 33-year-old composer, “I want to cement my base in film and television and continue to shatter the glass ceiling.”

Meet The Black Composers Behind The Music Of Today’s Biggest Films
03
Terence Blanchard

A six-time Grammy–winning jazz musician and composer, Blanchard adapted New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow’s memoir, Fire Shut Up In My Bones, for the 2021–2022 season of the Metropolitan Opera. “Overwhelming” is how the trumpeter describes premiering at the Met: “It’s been a mixed bag of emotions,” says Blanchard, who has recorded more than 30 albums and also scored the recent film One Night in Miami. “I think about the great composers who should have been here but weren’t,” he reflects. “I’m standing on their shoulders. This is bigger than me.”

It’s why Blanchard, 59, is doing his part to reshape how opera is viewed and who it’s presumed to be for, incorporating elements of gospel and jazz into his production for the Met. “There’s a stigma about opera, that it’s a formal arena for telling only certain kinds of stories,” he says. “But there’s room for all our stories. I want people of color to see themselves, too.”

Meet The Black Composers Behind The Music Of Today’s Biggest Films
TOPICS:  Music

COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now