The Fourth Annual Festival of New Trumpet Music (aka FONT) promises to open eyes and ears to the scope of contemporary trumpet music. “I think, as always, this year's festival is about all kinds of music and all kinds of people. We're showing off how many wonderful things are happening in music for the trumpet. That doesn't necessarily mean avant-garde, or jazz, or any particular genre. We want to create a platform for people who are doing great work and deserve more attention,” says co-founder Dave Douglas.
Some new wrinkles were added to this year's event. FONT Music has commissioned new works from five trumpeters/composers (Cuong Vu, Amir ElSafaar, Peter Evans, Du Yun and Jonathan Finlayson). Plus, to help musicians continue to cooperate and mature, David Krauss (co-principal, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra), the Atlantic Brass Quintet, Jim Ross (New York Philharmonic), Douglas and others will conduct free master classes at the Yamaha Artist Services Center.
Highlights include trumpet collaborations, featuring Avishai Cohen, Jeremy Pelt and Kenyon Harold; Don Cherry's “Relativity Suite” performed by Steven Bernstein's Millennial Territory Orchestra and Douglas Douglas and Graham Haynes doing Cherry's small group music; and Marcus Belgrave's tribute to drummer Lawrence Williams at The Jazz Standard. To really strain those cheeks, Butch Morris & Trumpet Nation conducts a trumpet “battle” at Cornelia Street Cafe on October 14.
But don't think this is your granddaddy's trumpet playing, there's also an international presence this year. Canadians Amy Horvey, Lina Allemano and Gordon Allen are original classical and jazz voices relatively unknown in America. Iraqi-American Amir ElSaffar integrates Arabic maqam with jazz. The Rodriguez Brothers Group along with Brian Lynch, presents new Cuban trumpet music. David Glukh's International Ensemble merges traditional klezmer with world fusion. German trumpeter Thomas Heberer performs Rob Henke's original music at Tonic on October 7.
But it doesn't matter how much the current musicians love to do their thing if there are no new young listeners and trumpeters coming up through the ranks. So on October 15, Douglas, Henry Grimes and Bernstein will headline a FONT Music benefit concert at St. Mark's Church in the Bowery, the proceeds of which will fund music programs in NYC schools. If you have an old instrument lying around, now's your chance to hand it over to a good cause.
Douglas and Roy Campbell founded FONT Music after being asked to curate a music program at Tonic in August of 2003. At the time, Douglas, Campbell and Baikida Carroll headed a trumpet ensemble called Alloy.
“It happened by accident,” recalls Douglas. “It occurred to me about how many trumpeters there were out there who deserved wider attention. After it was over, I got all these calls, saying 'OK, can I play in it next year?' It's just grown of its own momentum.”
Through Oct. 15. For more info: 347-578-7601; www.fontmusic.org.
