Vail Jazz Curtis Taylor performs in a previous Vail Jazz Alumni Quintet featuring Greg Ward, Adam Arruda, Raviv Markovitz, and James Francies. Jack Affleck / Vail Jazz Festival When you think of some of history’s greatest jazz trumpeters — Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Wynton Marsalis — you might wonder: Was their ascension to greatness destined to be? Would jazz sound different today if these trailblazers had never picked up a trumpet in the first place? For Vail Jazz Workshop alumnus Curtis Taylor, fate seems to have played at least a supporting role in his development as one of his generation’s leading jazz trumpeters. Taylor was the trumpet chair on acclaimed vocalist Gregory Porter’s Grammy-winning album “Liquid Spirit” in 2014 and more recently joined in recording the soundtrack to a documentary about Porter, “Don’t Forget Your Music.” Taylor has also performed, recorded and toured worldwide with the bands of saxophonist James Carter, bassist Rodney Whitaker and pianists Cyrus Chestnut, Billy Childs and Patrice Rushen.