It’s been an eventful few weeks. The 23rd season of Festival of New Trumpet was a great success both in numbers, and in rich community and great music.
2025. In honoring cornetist, composer, singer, guitarist and storyteller Olu Dara, we are reminded of the brilliance, the humor, the warmth, of his creative voice. We thank Olu for all he has given us. Hope you’ve had a chance to watch the video compiled by our own Lukas Frei.
Thanks for the kind words about my FONT project Alloy. I’m so happy to see it come out, and to get to play with Alexandra Ridout and Dave Adewumi. More to come, including a special extra disc released to special subscribers at Greenleaf Music.
Our two shows at The Jazz Gallery were a creative highlight, with Sasha Berliner on vibes, Kate Pass on bass, and Eliza Salem on drums. Dream band and one which I plan to bring to new stages soon. It’s a creative and unusual instrumentation, one which I relish both writing for and playing in.
Grace Fox Big Band at Birdland was a highlight. What a trumpet section! I enjoyed it thoroughly. Nice to see some familiar trumpeters from the community out there!
Frank London and Steven Bernstein was a reunion of sorts. The three of us, plus Herb Robertson, were the trumpet section of the Walter Thompson Orchestra almost 40(!) years ago. A warm evening at nublu with lots of great new tunes from both trumpeters.
A brass heavy band, 40 strong, read ”Index” by Bill Dixon under the leadership of Taylor Ho Bynum. I was thrilled to play and I learned so much! This is a beautiful piece and I look forward to more performances during his centennial and beyond.
Michael Sarian, Allison Philips, and Tree Palmedo put together an enormously creative night of trumpet and electronics. Great chamber music, loosely defined.
Festival of New Trumpet Music concluded September 12 at The Statuary in Jersey City. Trumpeters Terell Stafford, Lee Hogans, and Ted Chubb celebrated the legacy of great brass educator William B. Fielder. I was honored to be there and join in community of music and honor to the Prof.
Alongside the concerts in New York, FONT Music also keeps extending outward through Brass Without Borders, our virtual platform with over 50 trumpet artists from 22 countries. This year we added three new voices to the collection: Sonja Ott (Switzerland), Olivia Cuttill (UK), and Reiya Terakubo (Japan). You can go visit them here: www.fontmusic.org/bwb
The thing about hearing all these creative trumpeters is it’s nourishing. It feeds my practice. It opens doors to new possibilities. Everybody I heard this week was a revelation. Frank London and Steven Bernstein invoked the spirits of friends and legends. To play next to these friends, and shout out Roy Campbell Jr., Herb Robertson, Don Cherry, Butch Morris, Lester Bowie, Paul Smoker. Good for the heart.
Strength and Sanity — in the words of Booker Little! May we find peace and wisdom together.
Dave and the entire FONT Music team
