It was a true joy to spend time with Dr. Joan Paddock, an incredible trumpet player and all-around inspiring musician. She brought along something truly special to share with me, two lurs, ancient wind instruments from Scandinavia that share surprising similarities with the alphorn.

A lur is made from split and hollowed-out wood pieces bound together, simple, beautiful, and powerful. Like the alphorn, it’s played by buzzing the lips into the mouthpiece, producing hauntingly resonant natural tones.

What many people don’t know is that the lur was most often played by women, especially in rural mountain communities. These women used the instrument not just for music, but to call animals, warn of danger, and communicate across vast distances. One legendary example is Prillar-Guri, a young woman who used her lur to signal Norwegian forces during the Battle of Kringen in 1612, helping to ambush Scottish mercenaries. Her story remains a powerful symbol of courage and resistance.

I’m excited to explore ways to blend the sounds of the alphorn and lur in future projects, but for now, I hope you enjoy this playful call-and-response moment from our short lur jam session!

Last week I had the immense pleasure to visit Victor Mario Zaballa in his colorful workshop in San Francisco. He’s an artist and musician who plays traditional instruments from ancient Mexico, like ocarinas, clay flutes, gourds, gongs, and many beautiful drums. We decided to try something new: mixing the Swiss alphorn with these indigenous sounds. It was a surprising and powerful combination, two very different traditions coming together through music.

Victor is well known for creating Día de los Muertos altars. They’re colorful, heartfelt, and full of meaning, honoring loved ones who have passed. Just like his instruments, they’re deeply rooted in Mexican culture and history. He possesses a wealth of knowledge about the indigenous Aztec and Mayan cultures, filled with captivating stories. His deep understanding of his heritage could easily fill a book, fortunately, he’s married to the renowned Swiss author Milena Moser, who actually did just that, writing Das schöne Leben der Toten (“The Beautiful Life of the Dead”).

Playing the alphorn with Victor’s instruments and the added chants sung by his friend Clarence felt really special, like a musical offering that connected us across cultures and time.”