Riley Mulherkar Quartet

BlueStem presentaion | Trumpeter Riley Mulherkar is best known as a founding member of The Westerlies, a New York-based brass quartet of (as the name implies) West Coast expats who play a mix of jazz, modern classical and folk compositions, high on tunefulness. This deep admiration for the American songbook can also be heard all over Riley, the solo debut by the 32 year-old Mulherkar. But love of song is only half of the album’s primary pull. The other is the sonically modern setting for Mulherkar’s vulnerable, melodious interpretation of this rich tradition, a sound design shaped by producers Rafiq Bhatia and Chris Pattishall. Enveloping Mulherkar within a series of textured, intricately-crafted spaces, Bhatia and Pattishall train a cinematographer’s lens on the continuum of great old songs, as well as new Mulherkar pieces which fit right in. It’s a radically bold audio framework for the emotional pronouncements of Riley’s horn.

"It’s only March, but [Ride or Die] is my favorite jazz single of the year so far. And it’s got staying power." — DownBeat Magazine

"dreamy, collage-like…Mulherkar has carved out a distinctive niche on the musical landscape, one that combines a studied, song-based lyricism with a more avant-garde exploration of the sonic limits of the trumpet." — AllMusic

“a strong and forward-thinking album" — Big Takeover

“an adventurous tapestry pretty much unlike anything you've heard before.” — textura

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