Trumpet Players Extravaganza

A dedicated lot of extraordinary musicians and trumpet players will present their sixth ‘Festival of New Trumpet Music,’ beginning this Saturday. The festival will run from September 13 through the 28 at various venues around New York City.

Festival of New Trumpet Music is a two-week celebration of the diverse contemporary music scene, including its international contributors. Through a series of commissioned works, concerts, master classes and panels it focuses on the multitude of ways the trumpet is being sounded, and in the most grassroots sense it brings players and communities together in an embrace of creative culture. This year’s festival will open with their first award of recognition. The award will be presented to Wadada Leo Smith for his visionary musical and cultural analysis, his revolutionary approach to composition and of course his brilliant brass playing. In addition, FONT Music 2008 is commissioning new music from three extraordinary players: Chris DiMeglio, Nabaté Isles, and Reut Regev. Participants will also witness a host of new collaborations amongst trumpeters of varied persuasions, including performances by Dave Douglas, Ralph Alessi, Avishai Cohen, Ingrid Jensen, Jeremy Pelt, Ambrose Akinmusire, and many others. FONT asserts that, “far from an exhaustive survey, these two weeks are but a small sampling from the vast ocean of current practice – how it has changed the world of brass and been changed by it.” FONT Director, Curator and Trumpeter, Dave Douglas says, “the sea change here is in the radical, dangerous proposal for the coexistence of all music, a dismantling of all the institutional barriers erected to preserve the separation of genres and communities. Our mission in brass is to proclaim this all over the city, with a clear tone and a pure sound, as a font of inspiration: that all music is one.”

Trumpet players and fans, this is one festival you don’t want to miss!

Rising Star – Jeremy Pelt

As I promised in the ‘About’ section of this site, I will discover and promote as many modern day and up and coming artists as possible. Well today, I came across one such artist. He is a relatively young cat named Jeremy Pelt. From the pieces I have heard, he is truly an artist, one who not only sounds good but one truly expresses musical ideas in an experimental and expressive manner. A short while after graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1998, Jeremy began to play with the Minus Big Band in New York. Since that time he has had much success, voted rising star for five years in a row by Downbeat and featured on the cover of both Downbeat and Jazz Colour. He has been fortunate to play with some of today’s and yesterday’s jazz luminaries, including Ravi Coltrane, Vincent Herring, Nancy Wilson, Bobby “Blue” Bland, The Skatalites and many more. He has also been featured in the Roy Hargrove Band and the Duke Ellington Big Band.
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