Edgefest, the Kerrytown Concert House’s exploration of creative improvisational music, is getting brassy.

Now in its 14th year, Edgefest, which runs at the Concert House and elsewhere from Wednesday, September 29 through Saturday, October 2 is celebrating brass instruments this time, and it features some of the finest players and composers at the outer edges of jazz and modern chamber music.

“It just kind of came together, said Deanna Relyea, the concert house’s founder and the festival’s artistic director. “We heard some of the music being made by some of these amazingly talented young people and we realized that we had to bring them to the fest.

Rising star pianist Angelica Sanchez performs with trumpeter Rob Mazurek at Edgefest on Wednesday.

“And since there’s a vein of brass instruments running through this music, we realized that brass was going to be our theme. It happened very organically.”

And thus, Edgefest 2010 is “Edged in Brass.”

“I think it’s going to be a really fun festival,” Relyea added. This year, Edgefest features both new and returning performers, performing new works that emphasize the use of brass instruments in new and exciting ways. Some highlights include:

Wednesday, September 29 - Saxophonist and Ann Arbor native and University of Michigan graduate Matt Bauder closes the evening's performances with a reading of his own composition, “Day in Pictures,” featuring trumpeter Nate Wooley and pianist Angelica Sanchez.

Amir ElSaffar plays Edgefest on Thursday.

Thursday, September 30 - Trumpeter Amir ElSaffar and his Two Rivers Ensemble perform his own work, “Inanna,” which combines Middle Eastern drones and rhythms with elements of contemporary jazz. ElSaffar recently performed in Ann Arbor as part of Danilo Pérez’s stellar show at Hill Auditorium.

“Inanna is a stunning, breathtaking piece,” Relyea said.

Friday, October 1 - Edgefest veteran, composer, violist and Ann Arbor native Jason Kao Hwang combines Chinese classical and Western instruments for “Burning Bridge,” his own composition which explores themes of life and death and the fire that burns the bridges that connect past to present. Like ElSaffar’s performance. Hwang’s EDGE Quartet expands to an octet to tackle this challenging and hypnotizing composition.

Edgefest veterans Trio X, featuring Joe McPhee on pocket trumpet, bassist Dominic Duval and drummer Jay Rosen, is one of the most heralded, idiosyncratic and exciting groups in the realm of creative improvisational music. The trio returns to Edgefest, where its 2008 performance was one of the festival’s highlights.

Saturday, October 2 - Drummer and composer John Hollenbeck leads the University of Michigan Big Band in a big, bold and brassy reading of his compositions, including selections from his recent, Grammy-nominated CD, “Eternal Interlude.” This performance, will be held at 7:30 p.m. at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 306 North Division Street, in order to accommodate the size of the orchestra.

Back at the Concert House at 9 p.m., Edgefest concludes with a celebration of brass, including the acclaimed Claudia Quintet, featuring Holllenbeck, saxophonist Chris Speed and pianist Matt Mitchell, as well as Brass Blowout, an all-star jam session, featuring some U-M Professor and Ed Sarath and other festival performers.

It’s a perfect cap to the festival’s four-day immersion in brass as an element of exploratory, adventurous creative music.

In addition to the headlining performers, free Fringe at the Edge events take place throughout Kerrytown during the festival. Meanwhile, renowned tuba player Joe Daley will lead the annual jazz parade through Kerrytown at noon on Saturday, October 2.

For a full listing of the Edgefest Calendar, visit the Kerrytown Concert House website.

“Too often, jazz is obsessed with its past,” Relyea said. But these are the musicians who are taking the music forward.

“I think it’s the future. Our country is so diverse and our music is reflecting that.”

Edgefest is a treasure. It’s one of the area’s most exciting and original events and in spite of its outré leanings, the music is as fresh and accessible as it is experimental and new.

That’s never been more true than it is this year, Relyea said.

“This music is something that you can’t take your ears away from,” she said.

Will Stewart is a free-lance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com.