Brent White - Broken Toy (2021)

One of the greatest achievements of the Philadelphia Jazz Project has been in the work to provide Philadelphia musicians with the opportunity and challenge to create new musical works. In our Mysterious Traveler Concert Series; a collaboration with the Free Library of Philadelphia, we provided musicians with a small commission and the great fortune to work with staff librarians to develop new musical works inspired by items from the library’s vast collections.

These collaborations produced many impressive new works. One of the most fascinating of these projects was created by trombonist, educator and composer, Brent White. Presented in October of 2016, The Broken Toy was a beautifully scored suite of music dedicated to all of the children who suffer emotional damage that makes them broken and unable to be part of healthy relationships. The project was inspired by the children's book, Knock Knock: My Dad's Dream for Me written by Daniel Beaty and illustrated by Bryan Collier. After quietly continuing the work on this emotionally rich, musical tale, Brent White is poised to release the The Broken Toy project as a CD.