The Festival of New Trumpet Music (FONT Music) is a nonprofit organization founded by jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas to encourage aspiring trumpeters. The annual festival consists of concerts and workshops over a two to three week period in New York City in September. FONT also gives an Award of Recognition to a distinguished trumpeter who has made an important contribution to the instrument.

History

The first took place at the downtown music venue Tonic in August 2003 and presented 40 performances with trumpeters representing

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, hip hop,

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, and classical music. During the next year, the festival expanded into other venues, such as the New York Baháʼí Center, the 14th Street Y, and Makor. The second festival featured trumpeter Bill Dixon and performances by the 22-member Trumpet Nation led by Butch Morris. The third annual FONT Music, held in August 2005, provided a week-long celebration of

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at the Jazz Standard and an expansion of educational and performance opportunities for students and aspiring musicians. Jon Nelson joined Dave Douglas and

Roy Campbell Jr. Roy Sinclair Campbell Jr. (September 29, 1952 – January 9, 2014) was an American trumpeter frequently linked to free jazz, although he also performed rhythm and blues and funk during his career. Biography Born in Los Angeles, California, in 1 ...

as co-directors of the festival and oversaw the creation of an advisory board. The fifth annual Festival of New Trumpet Music began on September 15, 2007 and continued until September 30 with performances at the Manhattan School of Music, Jazz Standard,

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

, Cornelia St. Cafe, Tea Lounge, St. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, and Barbes. FONT Music 2007 welcomed

Ralph Alessi Ralph Alessi (born March 5, 1963) is an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and ECM recording artist. Alessi is known as a virtuosic performer whose critically-acclaimed projects include his Baida Quartet, with Jason Moran, Drew Gress, and Nashee ...

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, Robert Erickson,

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Jeremy Pelt Jeremy Pelt (born November 4, 1976, in California) is an American jazz trumpeter. Career Pelt studied classical trumpet as a child and focused on jazz after playing in a high school jazz ensemble. He studied at Berklee College of Music. Among th ...

, the Taylor Haskins Experiment, Kirk Knuffke,

Matt Lavelle Matt Lavelle (born 1970 in Paterson, New Jersey) is a jazz trumpet, flugelhorn, alto clarinet, and bass clarinet player. Career Lavelle began his music career with Hildred Humphries, a swing era veteran who played with Count Basie and Billie Holi ...

Spiritual Power Trio, Macroquarktet, Jason Palmer, Jason Price, Huang Ruo, and the

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Big Band. In 2008, the Festival presented a celebration of Louis Armstrong, Woody Shaw, and Wadada Leo Smith, and performances by Avishai Cohen,

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, John McNeill, and Jeremy Pelt. This festival also displayed works by Chris DiMeglia, Nabaté Isles, and Reut Regev and the Brassix Ensemble. The seventh annual FONT Music Festival in 2009 included performances at the Jazz Standard and Cornelia St Cafe, lessons with

Laurie Frink Laurie Ann Frink (August 8, 1951, Pender, Nebraska – July 13, 2013, New York City) was an American jazz trumpeter who worked primarily in big band idioms. Frink attended the University of Nebraska (1969-1972) and studied under Jimmy Maxwell (1 ...

, and a workshop with John McNeill. There were performances by Ambrose Akinmusire, RJ Avallone, Bobby Bradford,

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, Eddie Henderson, Russ Johnson,

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, and James Zollar. FONT Music 2010 included performances in the lower east side and in Brooklyn in October and January. The following musicians were featured in October: Lina Allemano,

Josh Deutsch Josh Deutsch is an American musician and composer. Primarily known as a trumpet player, he is a founding member of the Queens Jazz Overground, leads the band Pannonia and the Josh Deutsch Quintet, and performs regularly in a duo with guitarist N ...

, Brad Henkel, Kirk Knuffke, Matt Lavelle, Brad Mason, Nick Roseboro, and Ben Syverson. In January, FONT celebrated the live and career of Wilmer Wise with a performance and a workshop. Several trumpet ensembles and workshops in Abelton Live and group improvisation also took place. The ninth annual Festival of New Trumpet Music in 2011 celebrated Kenny Wheeler and Bill Dixon. It featured performances by Jonathan Finlayson, John Hollenbeck, Ingrid Jensen, Stephanie Richards,

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, and

Kenny Wheeler Kenneth Vincent John Wheeler, OC (14 January 1930 – 18 September 2014) was a Canadian composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player, based in the U.K. from the 1950s onwards. Most of his performances were rooted in jazz, but he was also active i ...

FONT Music 2012 was the tenth anniversary festival and featured a month of concerts throughout September. Performances occurred at the Jazz Gallery, Smalls Jazz Club, and Rockwood Music Hall. Performers included No BS Brass Band, Adam O'Farrill, Alicia Rau, John Raymond, Claudio Roditi, Natsuki Tamura, Tilt Brass, Charles Tolliver,

Jack Walrath Jack Arthur Walrath (born May 5, 1946) is an American post-bop jazz trumpeter and musical arranger known for his work with Ray Charles, Gary Peacock, Charles Mingus, and Glenn Ferris, among others. Biography Walrath was born in Stuart, Florida. ...

, David Weiss, and the West Point Jazz Knights. In 2013, The Festival of New Trumpet Music presented Music for Small, Medium and Massive: Premieres, Fanfares and Remembrance from September 10 to October 2. This festival included many premieres and commissions including a 52 trumpet piece. Musicians included Roy Cambell Jr., Matt Holman, and John Zorn. The 2014 Festival of New Trumpet Music featured over 15 performances and workshops in September at the Smoke Jazz and Supper Club, Village Zendo, Cornelia St Café, Mannes, New School, St Peter's Church, Littlefield, Ibeam, and Rockwood Music Hall. The festival included workshops and demonstrations by Blast of Brass and Jesse Neuman, Josh Landress, and a panel discussion on Brass Music in the 21st century. FONT Music awarded Raymond Mase with the Award of Recognition for his career and work with the American Brass Quintet. Performances included appearances by the American Brass Quintet, Practical Trumpet Society, New School Alumni Trumpet Round Robin, Banda de los Muertos, FONT's own Afro-Brass Assembly, No BS Brass Band, Graham Haynes, Carlos Abadie, Tim Hagans, and Aaron Shragge.

References

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External links

Official site
Classical music festivals in the United States Music festivals established in 2003 Jazz festivals in New York City