Tonight, Wednesday, March 3rd,
the 10-piece Brooklyn-based group
TILT Creative Brass Band
presents the second installment of its on-going series To TILT

Mark Isham Presents:
HOUSTON STREET
Exciting, innovative improv in its purest form
Performing LIVE at
Catalina Bar and Grill
6725 West Sunset Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028

This Sunday, February 28th, 2010
7:30pm

So much great brass music out there…

Trevor Hunter provides an in-depth analysis of Bill Dixon’s Tapestries for Small Orchestra (Firehouse 12 Records) in a review for the American Music Center’s Web magazine, NewMusicBox.

“In short,” he writes, “this is one of the best CDs of the year. Firehouse 12 has done an amazing job with every facet of this release…every instrument is given the space to breathe and create. The liner notes, written by Taylor Ho Bynum and Stephen Haynes, are an illuminatingly good read, but most interesting of all supporting materials is the documentary included on the DVD.”

Saturday 23rd 2pm Bowery Poetry Club (308 Bowery @ 2nd St.)

“Benefit for Brass” concert to raise funds for a 2nd volunteer seminar with Fundacion Brass Band del Ecuador, a school & community safehaven for underprivileged students and families in Quito, Ecuador.

Featuring members of Maria Schneider Jazz Orchestra, Brooklyn Qawwali Party, Imogen Heap, Michael Bolton, Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Ursa Minor, Bjork, Josh Ritter, and the Saturday Night Live band.

A tax deductible $20 suggested donation may be made online at www.FracturedAtlas.org on behalf of MUSICWORKS (https://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/contribute/donate/2849).

Checks and cash will also be accepted at the door.

FONT’s all over town this week. After the 9:00 set at Abrons head a few blocks up to the Stone to hear Reut Regev’s Brassix.

Brassix is a six piece Brass band that I put together about two years ago when I was commissioned by the Festival of New Trumpet Music to write a piece for Brass.

I wrote a composition that is some type of a musical game for five Brassists and a drummer. There are some written complete pieces within the somposition, as well as some written smaller fragments and some directed improvisation. The different parts are cued visually, audibly, and environmentally.

Brassix performed the piece at the Festival of new Trumpet music, 2008.

Its been two years, and the piece has been begging me to be played again!

So, this Sat, Jan 16th, at the Stone, Ave C and 2nd St in NYC, we are doing it.

Reut Regev- Trombone, Flugabone, Baritone Horn, Slide Trumpet, composition
Frank London – Trumpet, Alto Horn, Piccolo Trumpet
James Zollar – Trumpet
Mark Taylor – French horn, Mellophone, Trumpet
Jay Rozen – Tuba, Euphonium
Igal Foni – Drums, Brass percussion

I feel extremely fortunate to have all these fantastic musicians and improvisers join me in this experimental musical game.

By the way, in case you are not familiar with The Stone, it is a not-for-profit performance space dedicated to the
EXPERIMENTAL and AVANT-GARDE. 100% of the cover charge goes directly to musicians… and the cover is $10.

Hope to see you there!

Reut

The Stone – http://thestonenyc.com/index.html
The facebook event – http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=246818013709&index=1
My website – http://www.reutregev.com/
My youtube page – http://www.youtube.com/user/truerr
The Festival of New Trumpet Music – which is happening again this week & weekend! http://fontmusic.org/

Brassix, The Stone, this Sat, Jan 16th, 10pm, $10, Ave C & 2nd st, yes!

If you can’t make it to NYC for this weekends Forward Flight series and you’re close to Philadelphia, check out three of the great groups on Sunday, Jan 17 at the Ars Nova Workshop at International House Philidelphia.

Ars Nova Workshop, in partnership with the New York-based Festival of New Trumpet (FONT), is pleased to present the first annual FONT Philadelphia mini-festival showcasing three adventurous projects. Curated by Taylor Ho Bynum and Dave Douglas.

Open Circuit International Trumpet Ensemble

Taylor Ho Bynum (USA), cornet
Jean-Luc Cappozzo (France), trumpet
Franz Hautzinger (Austria), trumpet
Joe McPhee (USA), trumpet
Itaru Oki (Japan/France), trumpet
Herb Robertson (USA) , trumpet
William Parker (USA), bass
John Betsch (USA/France), drums

Meridian Arts Ensemble + Dave Ballou

John Ferrari, drums
Daniel Grabois, horn
Benjamin Herrington, trombone
Brian McWhorter, trumpet
Jon Nelson, trumpet
Raymond Stewart, tuba
Dave Ballou, trumpet

Chicago Underground Duo

Rob Mazurek, cornet + electronics
Chad Taylor, percussion

International House Philadelphia
3701 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104 Map
Price: $12 General Admission
TICKETS

Next Friday, January 15, at 9pm, the band will play at the Abrons Art Center as part of FONT Music. They’ve been kind enough to invite Dave Douglas to play a couple tunes with them. Can’t wait!

It’s part of a bill with Chicago Underground Duo with Rob Mazurek at 7:30; Opsvik & Jennings with Ignite a Noise Trumpet trio at 6:30; and more… full details at www.fontmusic.org.

UPDATE: They’ll be on Letterman on the 14th.

Jan. 13-16, 2010
Abrons Arts Center
466 Grand Street (at the corner of Pitt Street)
NYC

Purchase tickets to the Benefit honoring Wilmer Wise HERE
Purchase the festival pass HERE
Purchase individual night tickets HERE
Tickets will also be available at the door.

Wednesday, January 13th

7:30 p.m. on the Main Stage

FONT Music Celebrates The Music And Legacy of Wilmer Wise

A multi-faceted event and FONT Music fundraiser featuring a pre-concert reception and performances by Dave Douglas, Wilmer Wise and a gathering of special surprise guests. Wise’s eclectic and groundbreaking body of work includes faculty positions at Morgan State University and Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Conservatory and countless collaborations with many of the most prominent musicians, composers, conductors and ensembles of the 20th Century. Over the course of his 50-year career, he has worked with everyone from Pablo Casals to Placido Domingo, Philip Glass to Steven Sondheim, Rudolph Serkin to Leonard Bernstein, the Marlboro Festival Orchestra to the New York Philharmonic, Quincy Jones to Weather Report and many others in between.

Thursday, January 14th

9:00 p.m. on the Main Stage

The Chamber Music of Ornette Coleman featuring Wilmer Wise, Lew Soloff and Taylor Ho Bynum

Distinguished trumpet player Wilmer Wise will lead a performance of chamber music composed by Ornette Coleman, highlighted by the rarely heard work, “The Sacred Mind of Johnny Dolphin”, featuring special guest trumpeter Lew Soloff. The program will also include new arrangements of Coleman works featuring Soloff and cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum created by Darcy James Argue, Joseph C. Phillips, Jr. and JC Sanford of thePulse Composer Federation.

7:30 p.m. on the Main Stage

The Brass Music of Charles Wuorinen and Du Yun

The Urban Brass Quintet will present the New York premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s Brass Quintet with the composer conducting, and The New York Trumpet Ensemble, under the direction of Mark Gould, will perform Wuorinen’s “Big Epithalamium” for eight trumpets and Du Yun’s “Air Glow”, a 2005 FONT Music commission for five trumpets and laptop. Known as “a leading light of American contemporary music” (The New York Times), Wourinen has been one of the world’s foremost composers for more than four decades and Chinese-born Du Yun is one of its most eclectic and respected new

voices.

6:30 p.m. in the Blackbox Theatre

Anti-Social Music, Inc.

The New York-based composer/performer collective Anti-Social Music, Inc., known for its own fresh and unpretentious semi-annual concert series, will present a program of world premieres, including new music written by David Durst, Bradley Kemp, Andrea La Rose and Pat Muchmore, featuring trumpeters Tim Byrnes, Chris DiMeglio, Stephanie Richards and Kelly Rossum.

5:00 p.m. in the Blackbox Theatre

Free workshop: Oral History Project with Wilmer Wise

Veteran trumpet player Wilmer Wise will share some of the wisdom he acquired during the course of his 50-year career as a first-call trumpet player working with many of the 20th Century’s most respected names in jazz, Broadway and classical music.

Friday, January 15th

9:00 p.m. on the Main Stage

The Low Anthem with special appearance by Dave Douglas

“At times languid and haunting, but with detours into Tom Waits-esque stomping and hollering, The Low Anthem’s music seems equally informed by Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, The Band and a late-night ride home in Joni Mitchell’s car,” explains NPR Song of the Day reviewer Bruce Warren. “Like fellow new-acoustic greats—Fleet Foxes, Blitzen Trapper, et al.—The Low Anthem has created something strange, beautiful and new.” The Providence-based trio’s 2009 release, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin (Nonesuch), earned Album of the Year honors at the Boston Music Awards and is listed on year-end lists in publications including the Boston Herald, The Independent, Q, Rough Trade and Uncut.

7:30 p.m. on the Main Stage

Chicago Underground Duo

Cornetist Rob Mazurek and drummer Chad Taylor will celebrate the release of Boca Negra, their fifth recording for Chicago’s Thrill Jockey Records. The longstanding group is known for its adventurous explorations of sound and texture, fueled by the musicians’ ability to bring more than a dozen different instruments, as well as programmed sounds, into the mix on their recordings. Its music draws on elements such as modern composition, free-form improvisation and avant-rock. Boca Negra, the band’s first recording since 2006, will be released in January 2010.

6:30 p.m. in the Blackbox Theatre

Opsvik & Jennings meets Ignite a Noise Trumpet Trio

In his review of experimental chamber-pop duo Opsvik & Jennings‘ latest recording, A Dream I Used To Remember (Loyal Label, 2009), AllAboutJazz.com’s Troy Collins writes, “the duo’s improvisational skills are reflected in the sophisticated harmonies and concise arrangements that drive their buoyant songs. Bursting with verdant Americana, pastoral folk and nostalgic old world ambience, these pieces sit comfortably alongside the work of their indie rock brethren.” For this performance at Forward Flight, the three year-old group will join forces with the Ignite a Noise Trumpet Trio featuring three of New York’s most adventurous trumpet players, Rich Johnson, Russ Johnson and Kirk Knuffke.

5:00 p.m. in the Blackbox Theatre

Free workshop: Ableton Live User Group

Co-hosted by FONT Music and the Ableton Certified Training Center, Dubspot, this free workshop will offer guidance and practice for brass players interested in using Ableton Live software in their performances.

Saturday, January 16th

9:00 p.m. on the Main Stage

Open Circuit International Trumpet Ensemble

Forward Flight concludes with the American debut of this international all-star ensemble featuring trumpeters Taylor Ho Bynum, Jean-Luc Cappozza, Franz Hautzinger, Joe McPhee, Itaru Oki and Herb Robertson and the world-class rhythm section of bassist William Parker and drummer John Betsch. First assembled in May 2008 for a two-night stand at Le Petit Faucheaux in Tours, France, the Open Circuit International Trumpet Ensemble comes to the United States thanks to a grant from the CMA/FACE French-American Jazz Exchange that will provide funding for this performance and a second at the International House in Philadelphia the following night as part of a traveling FONT Music triple-bill with The Chicago Underground Duo and The Meridian Arts Ensemble with special guest Dave Ballou.

7:30 p.m. on the Main Stage

The Meridian Arts Ensemble featuring special guest Dave Ballou

This eclectic new music ensemble will be joined by trumpeter Dave Ballou to present the world premiere of David Sanford’s Seven Kings, a multi-movement work for brass quintet and trumpet soloist inspired by the complex interplay in King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band, commissioned by FONT Music and Chamber Music America. The program will also include music by Ballou and Mark Applebaum. The New York-based Meridian Arts Ensemble features John Ferrari (drums), Daniel Grabois (French horn), Benjamin Herrington (trombone), Brain McWhorter (trumpet), Jon Nelson (trumpet) and Raymond Stewart (tuba).

6:00 p.m. in the Blackbox Theatre

Trumpets in Traditional Folk Music: Mr. Tamerman’s Maggot and Sarah Ferholt’s Veveritse

Named after “Mr. Beveridge’s Maggot”, a once popular English country dance—in the folk tradition a maggot is a bit of whimsical and extravagantly different bit of music brought on by the madness caused by an actual maggot bite—trumpeter Erol Tamerman’s new quintet romps through fanciful jigs, reels, ballads, waltzes, polkas and more, including original compositions. Joining Tamerman are Nadje Noordhius (trumpet, flugelhorn and pennywhistle), Will Holshouser (accordian), Jaqueline Schwab (piano) and Andrew VanNostrand (guitar and bouzouki).

Veveritse is eight horn players and two percussionists exploring the Romany (Gypsy) brass band tradition of Serbia. Led by Brooklyn-based musician and educator Sarah Ferholt, the group also features Erin Bell (baritone truba), Patty Farrell (alto horn), Emily Geller (bubanj), Don Godwin (baritone truba), JR Hankins (truba), Joe Keady (tuba), Quince Marcum (alto horn), Luke Schnieders (snare drum), Greg Squared (alto sax) and Ben Syversen (trumpet).

5:00 p.m. in the Blackbox Theatre

Free workshop: The York College Blue Notes

The York College Blue Notes, an elite high school big band-in-residence at York College/CUNY, will join with other student ensembles and members of the Open Circuit International Trumpet Ensemble to demonstrate techniques for collective improvisation.

Share]]> http://fontmusic.org/2010/01/forward-flight-2/feed/ 0 http://fontmusic.org/2010/01/wilmer-wise-be-sure-brain-is-engaged-before-putting-mouthpiece-in-gear/ http://fontmusic.org/2010/01/wilmer-wise-be-sure-brain-is-engaged-before-putting-mouthpiece-in-gear/#comments Tue, 05 Jan 2010 19:08:41 +0000 admin http://fontmusic.org/?p=36648

Author: Dave Douglas

Festival of New Trumpet Music is celebrating Wilmer Wise on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at Abrons Art Center! Mark your calendars and please come meet this remarkable musician and wonderful person! There will be music and refreshments and good company. Advance tix available here. Proceeds directly benefit FONT’s nonprofit new trumpet programs.

Some of you may not be familiar with Mr. Wise, a legend of trumpet playing who has broken barriers in so many ways. FONT’s mission is to support new trumpet music by commissioning music, presenting new music, and recognizing creative pioneers. Wilmer Wise is certainly the latter, and definitely still engaged in the former. This will be a long over-due celebration of his life and music. He’s playing new music written for him by Jimmy Owens. I will be there with some special friends as well. Gathering at 6; music at 7:30.

On January 14, also at Abrons, Wilmer will perform Ornette Coleman’s piece (which he premiered in 1974), ‘The Sacred Mind of Johnny Dolphin,’ for trumpet, string quartet and percussion. Wilmer, Lew Soloff, and Taylor Ho Bynum will also play new arrangements of Ornette’s music by members of the Pulse Collective: Joe Phillips, Darcy James Argue, and J.C. Sanford. Please join us for this double bill — with the Brass Music of Charles Wuorinen played by New York Trumpet Ensemble and Urban Brass. (About which more later).

I repeat, January 14 Double Bill: Ornette Coleman & Charles Wuorinen.

Wilmer Wise hosts a forum at Trumpetmaster.com and his signature is indicative of his thoughtful and inspired musicality:

Be sure Brain is engaged before putting Mouthpiece in gear. S. Suark 1951

Here’s a bit of bio:

Working with everyone from Pablo Casals to Placido Domingo, Philip Glass to Steven Sondheim, Rudolph Serkin to Leonard Bernstein, the Marlboro Festival Orchestra to the New York Philharmonic, Quincy Jones to Weather Report and many others in between, Wilmer Wise has truly been there and done that.

Born in Philadelphia on December 21st, 1936, Wise began playing the trumpet when he was eight years old. He studied for six years with the legendary Sigmund Hering, a forty-year veteran of the Philadelphia Orchestra and widely considered the most influential trumpet teacher of his day, as well as Hering student Gil Johnson, Sam Krauss and Nat Prager, before turning professional in 1960. He began his career as the only black musician in the orchestras for the Broadway show previews in Philadelphia, including Showgirl with Carol Channing, and also performed as a guest soloist with groups such as Quincy Jones’ band as they passed through town. In the early 60’s, he also joined the trumpet section of Johnny Lynch’s Club Harlem Band of Atlantic City, which already included Johnny Coles and Lamar Wright.

In 1965, Wise began a five-year stint as the Baltimore Symphony’s Assistant Principal Trumpet. In a city that was slow to accept racial integration, the only place he could live was the Mount Royal Hotel, a well-known haven for African-American entertainers such as Flip Wilson and Richard Pryor, who Wise already knew from his days in Philadelphia. That same year, he also joined the Symphony of the New World, a fully integrated orchestra that featured both black and white performers, as well as men and women. The group, which also featured Joe Wilder on first cornet, was sponsored in part by the Ford Foundation and played its own concert at Carnegie Hall. 1965 was also the year he toured Europe as first trumpet in the Marlboro Festival Orchestra, conducted by Rudolf Serkin, and played on the ensemble’s famous recordings with cellist Pablo Casals.

One of the first jobs he got upon relocating to New York in 1970 was playing in the American Symphony conducted by Leopold Stokowski. A year later, he played in his first show on Broadway, Lovely Ladies and Kind Gentlemen, an unmemorable flop that actually led to a more lucrative job at Madison Square Garden. Wise would go on to become a first-call trumpeter on Broadway, playing lead trumpet in more than 30 shows, including five of Steven Sondheim’s biggest hits and their original cast recordings. He also played lead trumpet on the only recording of West Side Story conducted by Leonard Bernstein, as well as on many of Philip Glass’ movie soundtracks. His most long-lasting job was as the Brooklyn Philharmonic’s principal trumpet, a position he held for more than three decades until his retirement in 2003.

There is a fantastic interview with Wilmer, conducted by Laurie Frink in 2005. It is at the site of the International Trumpet Guild.

One of the things that grabbed me is, when asked to name one remembrance that stands out in his long career, he says “Actually, I don’t know of any time I’ve not enjoyed myself playing the trumpet and making music.”

Here’s another excerpt:

Frink: You studied with Sigmund Hering?!
Wise: (nods, smiling) For about six years. He never played a note for me. In fact, he had students come into the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia and I played duets with them. So I got there early and my lessons were free as a result. One summer I got a chance to study with Gil Johnson (also a Hering student) because the Philadelphia Orchestra was away on tour so I studied with Gil at the Settlement Music School.
Frink: So Hering was still in the orchestra?
Wise: Yes, he was still in the Philadelphia orchestra and Gil was in the New Orleans Symphony Orchestra and he came up to teach for Hering. I used to get there early just to hear Gil. He would practice everything on the C trumpet, the piccolo trumpet, and the E-flat trumpet. He would play with such a sound! I try to emulate Gil. I try to emulate a couple of guys in my classical playing. The sound I hear in my head is a combination of Gil Johnson, Harry Glantz, and Sam Krauss. Classical trumpet players need to sound like a combination of players, not just one. That’s what I hear in the best. I hear some Bud (Herseth) in Phil’s (Smith) playing, I also hear some Vacchiano. It’s like a music history lesson when I hear the best trumpet players. You hear their teachers and you hear an expression of themselves in their sound. Each trumpet player has a unique sound. That’s the beauty of the instrument!! With jazz players it’s a little more discernable. You can hear some Pops (Louis Armstrong) in just about everybody, even guys who never heard Pops. If you listen to Dizzy Gillespie, Roy Eldridge, Clifford Brown, you hear a little Pops in them. And I must say that I hear a little Pops in some symphonic players. I just hear Pops all over the place, but that’s me. (laughing)

It is that remarkable optimism and openness that has inspired generations of collaborators. Just this morning I received an email from one of America’s preeminent musicians, David Amram:

Thank you for honoring Wilmer, a fabulous musician and friend since Marlboro Festival in 1969 when we first met. Wilmer began with the Brooklyn Phil the same year that I did.

I was chosen to be the Director of Free School Time, Family and Parks concerts, and remained there for 29 years until their funds ran out!

That first year, Sam Levitan, the contractor, told me that I could choose ONE musician and I asked Sam to call Wilmer. I knew that if Wilmer was there, he could carry THE WHOLE ORCHESTRA if things ever got mysterious, and also like many of the other great free lance players of that era, I new that Wilmer could bring a really high level of artistry, creativity and true musicianship to make everyone else FEEL LIKE PLAYING at THEIR highest level.

He still continues to do that today.

Wilmer played many solos with us, in addition to playing on many of my recordings and other concerts I have done and is the consummate musician!!

Wilmer is one of our greats!

David Amram
www.davidamram.com

–

The Festival, and me personally, are thrilled to be working with Wilmer and presenting this music. Hope to see you there.