>> good evening, from los angeles, i'm tavis smiley. conversation with olympia snowe, former republican senator from maine, long considered one of the last lawmakers in washington. in 2012, she decided not to run senate seat she'd held for 18 years, in part because of frustration with a mired inonal congress partisan politics. she's written a book about her government called "fighting for common ground," about how to fix the stalemate congress. i recently caught up with jazz great terence blanchard about his new album, "magnetic." it him.lk those conversation coming up right now. >> there's a saying that dr. king had, he said it's right time to do the right thing. i just try to live my life every day by doing the right thing. that we're only about

halfway to completely eliminate hunger and we have a lot of work do and wal-mart committed $2 billion to fighting hunger in the u.s. work together, we can stamp hunger out. by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ares: many people frustrated with the partisan bickering in washington, none than the former moderate republican senator from maine, snowe. after 18 years in the senate, she decided not to run again.

fellow at theior bipartisan policy center, she's toing voters in america demand real political reform, an argument she makes in her new text, "fighting for common ground," how to fix the stalemate in congress. senator snowe, good to have you on tonight. >> thank you, tavis. it's great to be here. tavis: let me go right at it. you are regarded by many as a fighter, i think, indeed, you regard yourself as a fighter. how do you juxtapose the notion of fighting with, as some might it, cutting and running. why not stay and fight this in the senate? ofbecause it's a question whether or not you're going to achieve the results that are the current change political dynamic. so i haven't left the fight, i just left the senate. i'm taking my fight in a different direction and my book this effortion of to give voice to the frustration, to the 90% of the viewcan people who congress as being too partisan, but secondly, also, to

illustrate how the process has worked in the past, what's gone other things can be done now in real time, ansently, to begin to have impact on redirecting the political environment in tohington that leads solutions. tavis: tell me more, senator fight to do why the this has to happen from the outside, not the inside. the backdropainst of the fact that you decided to step aside as a republican. in indiana, a democrat, had the same concerns, he stepped outside the senate to continue these kinds of fights, wrote a piece in the "new york some of theng things you lay out here but there are those who think the fix the senate, to fix washington, is from the outside and it can't be done on the inside. case?e why that's the >> because i think we have to change the incentives in the and rewardystem bipartisanship and consensus and

and that does have to come, i think, from americans who can become the counterweight, frankly, to so many organizations and outside interests in the political system and in the campaigns that fuel the polarization and partisanship. spentw that they have tireless engaged in efforts to continue to divide so it's necessary for i think americans to become engaged and ways in which to do that, through the bipartisan policy center. launched a new website called citizens for political reform in conjunction the common ground project so they can weigh in in real rootsform a grass catalyst to bridge the political divide and look for the common ground options, know what they the issues that are currently pending in the house and the senate, and who are the lawmakers who are willing to

champion that divide. and i've created my own political action committee to support consensus candidates for the future. valuehink that we have to bipartisanship because otherwise there are going to be those who willing to continue to enhance this partisanship for political gain but does nothing to further the interests of the country as it that's why itso has to work from the outside and so i can tell people and share them what could be effective to make this change. hit this issue a moment ago, that's the notion of fellow citizens have to do something about this mess that some might call it a cesspool, washington these days, call it a lack of bipartisanship. what agency do the american people really have? it's clear that the american people are disappointed in the way congress works or doesn't

work, to your earlier point, the polls and studies and surveys underscore that we're with congress but what agency do the american people actually have to do something about that frustration? >> i just know from my speeches talkinghe country and to various audiences whether forums campus, in other and people are absolutely, you know, fed up with the harsh partisanship and the bickering that's fueled this legislative constantly ask me what, can we do about it and that's why we've launched in project, have a specific website so they can go on there, find what are the options available to lawmakers to work through the issues, to express their voice because i think so often, tavis, people underestimate the impact that politicalave on the process. look how congress responded to controllers, for example. they didn't want to incur the

constituents when they're sitting on the same planes idling on the tarm macs because of the cutbacks. they responded to that. we can see that in other ways. ask me on the universal background check. peopleof the american supported it, why is it that it didn't pass? happen toause the 10% be vocal and organized. the point is, you have to look at the issues and if we want to progress in this country on the fundamental issues that have congress, ifd by you think about the last few years, what have we accomplished the american people when you look at the issues looming on the horizon, whether it's tax reform reform or or regulatory reform, we have precious time to address these issues and to mitigate the effects they're going to have few short years down the road. thes: americans across country, after sandy hook, every poll, every study, every survey

made it taken abundantly clear the american people wanted something done. ans one thing not to get assault weapons ban on the notr, it's another thing to even get background measures passed even though 90% of the it soan people were for it's not like their voices weren't heard. everybody knows they were put myself in that -- that we were upset and we wanted something done so to your point about the 10% being vocal and that a nice way of saying that washington is bought by big money? know, but i think that the whole issue on expressing oneself through phone calls and is absolutelyers paramount and making their voices heard. of that.hat's part i think it really does influence weighocess to have people in in vast numbers to know that paid forl be a penalty

not being willing to support the aitiative and work on bipartisan basis. that's the other thing. table and atrn the the elections and before that and reword those who are going to be willing to work on a bipartisan basis and penalize those who don't and i think lawmakers have to understand have to be held accountable and in this instance on the inkground check, can't be every instance of what happened here but clearly it was obvious that congress needed to be by the numbers in that 90% who wanted congress to it andthing about obviously they didn't fear the penalty enough, you know, not to follow that route. now i know there are some in some regions and districts and it's not a partisan issue, it's more regional, geographic, but in this case, i think even those gun rights guns and

understand how we h to make light ofst changes in sandy hook. tavis: maybe the issue of fear that you're raising didn't apply in this case to my mind as it apply in any number of other cases because of one single thing, gerrymandering. these districts have so many members -- these members are districts and as long as they do what they know plays in their districts as the besto what's in interest of the nation, they can get away with that so talk to me what you sowch of write about in your book has to gerrymandered safe districts that doesn't make anybody have to come across the try to be bipartisan on issues that matter to the american people? >> you're right, travis. all the statistics and analysis recently --en done one study said there were 21 competitive seats. said there were 35

seats in the house of representatives that are 435 comparedut of to 20 years ago when there were 103 seats. so, yes, it dramatically changed. we need to have independent re-districting commissions, i makeone of the points in my book and that can happen at the state level. some states have moved in that direction. california has, my state has. i think it's critically essential to changing the dynamic so that you have broader based candidates emerging from these primaries because the districts aren't gerrymandered. same could be true with open primaries, for example. that's another way to making sure that you have candidates across the spectrum within a as opposed to a narrowly tailored candidate that represents a small -- >> small. what about pacs? >> no one is more dismayed than

am about what transpired in that decision not only striking my provision, it withstood the first challenge in the supreme court when sandra day o'connor was there but they unraveled 100 years of precedent and case law. we have to figure out the real as to how you draft campaign finance reform to withstand constitutional scrutiny but it's something that really has to be done and both in it.ave to be vested they have to have an interest in bringing both sides together in done for the best interest of this country. the money is overwhelming, the campaigns, the time it takes to raise money and the time spent. and those, again, those people have an interest in know, the fires, you know, and stoke the fires in the congress, are going to decibelsto raise the

not to mention further demonize people's viewpoints and that really prevent people from even taking a thoughtful position in congress acause you don't ever have chance to even get to that point so you have campaign finance that iis a huge issue think that the congress and the have to demand, as well. tavis: we've just scratched the surface tonight on a book chock-full of great ideas about how to fix what is broken in formerton written by u.s. senator olympia snowe. the book is called "fighting for can fixround, how we the stalemate in congress." senator, thank you for your text.e and the >> thank you, tavis. i appreciate it. jazz greatext, terence blanchard. stay with us. trumpeterning jazz terence blanchard has always pushed musical boundaries to

new ways to communicate with listeners. his work has ranged from movie jazzs to broadway to a infused opera titled "champion" debut next month. his newest album about to be "magnetic."called let's take a look at terence blanchard and his quintet c.d.ng a cut from that ♪ askingsame time i was terence, did you remember that performance? he was like, kinda sorta. a point that you do so many gigs, you don't recall where you were? remember whereo that's from. that's not good. tavis: it sounded good. cool.was we were having fun, that's a good thing. tavis: tell me about the new

project, "magnetic," for starters? >> "magnetic" is a new album comprised of mostly original music and we have a couple of on it,uest artists robbie coal strain and carter. but the tune itself is -- i became a buddhist about six years ago -- and it's all centered around the notion of drawing positive things to your life and trying to have more enlightened experiences in life. tavis: you said two things, i'll start with "magnetic." this is -- and i could be wrong about this -- i figure myself a relatively good student of your corpus. i don't know that i've seen a project where the writing was this collaborative. your quintet, everybody seems to have gotten a writing -- these guys are talented, obviously, but am i reading that right or wrong that this time you shared more on the writing? >> you're right, you're right. tavis: just checking. ok. >> it's because i think all of these guys have a voice and i'm

taking a page out of art blakey's playbook. he always encouraged us to write to help us to develop as young artists. in mythink while they're band, it's a safe haven for them. i always encourage them to write and create. tavis: another thing you said i want to go back to is you're being buddhist. or seven years ago. there are a number of great artists we know are part of the tradition. anybody who saw the movie "what's love got to do with it" saw the transformation tina turner made and our friend herbie hancock, talking about the international jazz day in istanbul. we'll talk about that in a second. i know you're a part of that year. but herbie, famously, a buddhist. i wonder how comfortable you are telling me the influences that pulled you there, how you got there. because you weren't raised that way in new orleans? >> no, not at all. it was herbie hancock, actually. i did a tour with him six years ago and we were on the road, we 10 weeks andfor

we chanted every night. and i just saw the benefits of it. one of the things that was interesting about growing up as a christian, i still hold on to my belief in jesus, you know, but the practice of buddhism gives me something every day to physically do and engage in and i saw the benefits of it and i saw how it turned my life around instantly. so it's been something that i have been pursuing ever since and i'm -- when i say i'm a buddhist, it's like i said earlier, it's not that you throw away any of the beliefs that you have but it enhances everything. tavis: when you say it turned your life around. i don't want to get too personal here, but for those of us who are fans of yours, six, seven years ago, you didn't want to turn around. you were doing pretty good, winning grammys and scoring movies and doing pretty good six or seven years ago so when you say it turned you around, i'm curious what you mean by that. >> sometimes when you become

successful, the success takes on a life of its own and you start to forget some of the things that are more important and one of the things that being a buddhist made me realize is that while i'm a musician, that's not all of who i am, you know, and i love being a husband, i love being a father and the practice of buddhism kind of really enriched those other parts of my life. tavis: i never talk to you without taking the opportunity to ask how my family and friends are doing down in 'nola. you at one point had a house out here but now you're pretty much back in new orleans. was there a conscious decision to go back there? >> definitely. i had a place in both cities and i knew that i was going to make my permanent residence new orleans just first of all because i love the city but also because of the statement that i think it makes in terms of how we believe in bringing the city back and the city's doing extremely well. we still have things we have to accomplish, obviously, but, you know, mitch landrieu and some of

the city officials there and mostly the public have done a lot of great things, man, to help revitalize that city and i'm very proud of the citizens of that city for everything they've done. tavis: i'm glad you said most of the public. utgetg you, i figured there. mitch is a wonderful mayor but i'm glad you said the public because even mitch would admit they've been pushed the people more than they've aided the people along. >> that's a beautiful thing of what happened in the aftermath of katrina, we all became activists of some sort. never viewed ourselves that way. i always considered might be socially conscious but never an activist but after katrina, we had no choice. we had to be active and hold people's feet to the fire because we felt betrayed. a lot of people elected to office didn't do their job so we felt like it was incumbent upon us to make change or hold the people's feet to the fire who were there. tavis: i've talked to so many people over the years since katrina who, for a lot of different reasons, have moved to new orleans.

birthplace. this is home for you and i'm not saying this to cast aspersion, i'm delighted people have discovered new orleans since katrina and for a lot of reasons, some who have moved there started out volunteering and fell in love with the city as a volunteer and moved which raises the question for me. it's one thing to have an infusion of people who appreciate the culture but that infusion of people isn't steeped in the culture which raises the obvious question, what happens to the culture in the coming months and years -- does that make sense? >> it makes a lot of sense and it's a tricky issue. because it's one of those things where i'm totally engrossed in the culture of new orleans. i love the musical history. i love the culinary arts, i love the visual arts. but one of the things that you worry about with infusion of new people is that all of those things becoming a caricature of themselves so one of the things i constantly push for is for us to really realize that this is still a living art form, it's

still evolving and it's still young musicians who have a lot to offer who are not of the tradition but not totally part of that and that's perfectly fine because while louis armstrong was the father of it all, it has to move and grow past that and that's been happening generation after generation but we want to make sure people keep that in the forefront. tavis: there's re-releases of old miles stuff that have come out on album. vinyl. in honor of national record day this year, the miles davis three re-releases of some of his best stuff. i just got these l.p.'s the day. and miles known for trying new things, for being an innovator. whatever that was that drove miles i'm glad it drove him but what is it that has driven you or what's driving you to be so innovative, to push the boundaries so much? >> it's miles and herbie and and all of those guys,

thelonious monk. theuse they never accepted status quo. and i grew up listening to a lot of different types of music so i'm always trying to infuse those things. growing up listening to funkadelic, mandrill, jimi hendrix, miles davis, louis armstrong. all of those things influence my musical statement and i try not to shy away from it. you get into trouble when you say i'm a jazz musician so i do this. i think that pigeon holes a lot of artists. i don't view myself that way. i am a jazz musician but i'm a jazz musician who encompasses a lot of other things. tavis: a lot of other things include this new jazz opera. what does jazz opera sound like? describe that for me. we're going to find out. you're writing jazz opera, you're writing for solo voices, when you are known for is improvisation so i'm trying to figure out how this is going to

work. >> me, too. i am, too. it's been a big labor of love, man. roger dickerson is my composition teacher in new orleans. i called him up and he said listen, man, trust your training, go ahead and let the music and the libretto speak to you, so it was a bit of a challenge because writing for voice is a technical thing. when you write for trumpet or violin, the range is this wide but the voice is this wide and in that range there's this much of it that can project. this other part may not be able to project as well so you have to keep that in mind when you're writing all of these things so when i'm writing for film and i want to write something dramatic, the sweeping thing, i have a range for the strings to go up and down. i don't have that range for the voice, so i have to use other little tricks and the thing that's been really great, opera theater st. louis has had a number of workshops for me where i worked with young vocalists so i could get accustomed to how the voice works and operates so

that under my belt, i had to readjust my thinking. tavis: finally, i know that you and herbie and other artists are participating in the international celebration of jazz. i wish i was going with you this year. >> you should come, man. istanbul.ove tell me your sense as you travel the world of how jazz, which is our creation, it is ours, and yet it's celebrated around the world. >> it speaks to -- the whole idea of international jazz day speaks to the profound impact the music has had on the world. when you travel the world, everybody knows who louis armstrong is, you know what i mean? and you can hear the influence that jazz, john coltrane, thelonious monk has had on a lot of other people with the rhythm, the harmonic approach and melodic approaches. so for us to celebrate this, it's a huge testament to the efforts of a lot of other people like herbie, wayne, staunch supporters in trying to get everybody else to understand how important this is.

and i think, you know, when we did it last year, which was the year, i was surprised at the impact it had on people here country so i'm eager to see what's going to happen this year. tavis: so the jazz opera "champion" premieres when? >> it premieres june 15, opera theater of st. louis. tavis: opera theater of st. louis. and the new project, "magnetic," of course, may 28, in stores. the new project from terence blanchard and i'm always glad to see you, man. >> good to see you, too. tavis: come back any time. that's our show for tonight. thanks for joining us. inil next time, good night l.a. and keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. >> hi, i'm tavis smiley, join me next time for a conversation with the best selling novelist,

>> there's a saying dr. king had, he said it's always the right time to do the right thing. i try to live my life every day doing the right thing. we know that we're only with halfway to completely eliminate we have a lot of work to do. wal-mart committed $2 billion to the u.s.hunger in as we work together, we can stamp hunger out. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you.

% just hits you right here in the heart. >> i had the good fortune to be on stage, but most of the greatest thing of my time. >> i didn't think i would be here this long. at such and such an age you're supposed to do something and i just never have thought like that. i don't conform. % heo.