Brass Tacts

Hardcore trumpeters will commune and commiserate in Philly this weekend.

by Shaun Brady

Hilary McHone HORNY HO: Taylor Ho Bynum, co-founder of The Festival of New Trumpet Music, says focusing on the instrument leaves the players free to explore different genres and styles.

[ jazz/misc. ]

The way cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum tells it, trumpet players have an easy time bonding, thanks to a shared pain.

"The trumpet or the cornet are such brutally difficult instruments to play, you always share a sense of camaraderie with fellow practitioners," Bynum says. "You all have that scar on your lip."

But far from simply a chance for commiseration, the Festival of New Trumpet Music has, since its inauguration in 2003, provided an opportunity for adventurous horn players from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines to advance their music with like-minded instrumentalists. Founded by Dave Douglas and Roy Campbell Jr., FONT has become fertile ground for new music and innovative collaborations. "By having the focus be on an instrument, it actually gives us incredible freedom in terms of genre and style," explains Bynum, FONT vice president and co-curator.

The fruits of that freedom will travel outside New York for the first time in the event's history this weekend, as FONT presents a triple-bill in Philly a night after the four-night festival wraps in Manhattan.

The evening's highlight is undoubtedly the Open Circuit International Trumpet Ensemble, a summit of six horn players and rhythm section composed of renowned improvisers from France, Austria, Japan, and the States (including Bynum). The group was initially brought together in May 2008 by French trumpeter Jean-Luc Cappozzo for two days of musical exchange in Tours, France.

"We all had an absolute blast," Bynum recalls. "Everyone comes at the instrument a slightly different way, everyone really enjoyed each other's company, and musically it really clicked. So after we finished, we all said that we needed to find a way to make this happen again."

The remainder of the diverse program exemplifies in miniature the broad-minded programming that FONT strives for, featuring the Chicago Underground Duo, cornetist Rob Mazurek and percussionist Chad Taylor's long-running jazz-electronica project melding the avant-jazz and post-rock scenes in the Windy City; and the contemporary classical Meridian Arts Ensemble, presenting the world premiere of composer David Sanford's "Seven Kings," which was commissioned by FONT, in collaboration with improviser Dave Ballou.

"Because Dave and Roy were the founders, FONT has always been seen as a jazz festival, but it's really not," Bynum says. "Obviously it's a huge part of what we do, but it's really about new music of any form. So within three groups, we have this mix of a working ensemble that has come out of the Chicago rock scene and developed a completely unique language, rigorous contemporary composed music and a rare meeting of international performers bringing their improvised languages together. It shows how blurry the edges between all these genres are, which is almost the point of what we do."

(s_brady@citypaper.net)

Festival of New Trumpet Philadelphia Sun., Jan. 17, 7 p.m., $12, International House, 3701 Chestnut St., 215-387-5125, arsnovaworkshop.com.