Photo © Sasha Arutyunova 2014

With the help of staunchly “beyond category” composer Wayne Horvitz, the Westerlies have turned that idea on its head, taking the brass quartet out of the military and baroque, and into that nebulous jazz/compositional space known as “new music.” The four incredible players (two trumpeters and two trombonists) lend Horvitz’s melancholy compositions a gentle, burnished sound, smoothing the edges off dissonance without masking it. “Waltz from Woman of Tokyo” sounds like the score to one of those seemingly pedestrian but ultimately transcendent short films, with its frenetic, contrapuntal center guarded on both sides by a lilting waltz. A beautiful take on what the future sounds like. - Revive Music

Avid explorers of cross-genre territory, The Westerlies are dedicated to the cultivation of a new brass quartet repertoire that exists in the ever-narrowing gap between American folk music, jazz, classical, and indie rock. Since their inception in 2011, The Westerlies have premiered over 40 original works for brass quartet, and crafted an approach that trumpeter Dave Douglas has described as “Swinging, grooving, clean and tricky playing. This is the group that, once you’ve heard them, you’ll realize they always needed to exist. Unique, original, exciting. And simply killing in the best sense.”

For their evening at BOP STOP, The Westerlies will present music from their debut album, Wish The Children Would Come On Home: The Music of Wayne Horvitz, named one of the top ten albums of the year by NPR Music's Francis Davis: "It's proof, if any be needed, that the same music can be both folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous. (Also my choice as 2014's best debut album.)”

An opening act will be provided by our friends at Classical Revolution beginning at 7:00pm. The Westerlies will perform at 7:30pm.

VIDEO: Wayne Horvitz, The Westerlies

http://www.westerliesmusic.com/