Beyond Category was term the great Duke Ellington used as the highest form of praise for those artists who transcended normal boundaries. Since their inaugural season in 1993, Rhythm & Brass has lived up to the ideal of a musical presentation that is not bound by time, geography or culture. With the unique ability to incorporate influences as divergent as Josquin Des Prez, Pink Floyd, John Coltrane, Johann Sebastian Bach, and of course, Duke Ellington, Rhythm & Brass searches for the commonality in these influences and fearlessly weaves them all into a single concert experience.
While maintaining a full touring schedule, Rhythm & Brass has also performed at numerous special events, including a 1994 New York concert debut at Carnegie Recital Hall with celebrated jazz trumpeter Randy Brecker. Commissions have been premiered at Chicago’s Mid-West International Band and Orchestra Clinic and the national convention of the Music Educator’s National Conference. R&B has also been featured at the New York Brass Conference, the International Trumpet Guild Conference, the Raphael Mendez Brass Institute, Kentucky’s Great American Brass Band Festival, the National Trumpet Competition and the National Association of Music Merchants Convention in Los Angeles. Internationally, Rhythm & Brass has concertized in Canada, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Virgin Islands. R&B has toured Japan three times and returned to the Middle East in March or 2000.
The members of Rhythm & Brass maintain an active involvement in music education. Of particular interest is the promotion of chamber music in the schools. Their book, Team Play: A Guide to Making Chamber Music Together (Universal Edition), is a method by which educator and student alike can take part in the joys of chamber music. Rhythm & Brass has given workshops and lectures on this subject at the Music Educator’s National Conference and the Mid-West International Band and Orchestra Clinic as well as authoring an article for the Instrumentalist, one of the most important music education publications. The group is often found in residence at major universities throughout the nation as well as summer music camps and festivals, such as Bands of America and the Brevard Music Center. Rhythm & Brass is a Yamaha Performing Ensemble.
