Westerlies Fest: Wayne Horvitz Gravitas Quartet & The Westerlies

Schedule

Sat Jun 17 2023 at 08:00 pm to 10:30 pm

Location

Good Shepherd Center | Seattle, WA

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Seattle-bred, Brooklyn-based brass quartet The Westerlies return home to present Westerlies Fest 2023.
About this Event

Featuring Wayne Horvitz Gravitas Quartet and an opening set by The Westerlies.

Full festival schedule at www.westerliesfest.org.

Gravitas Quartet

Led by pianist/composer Wayne Horvitz, Gravitas Quartet explores the intersection of chamber music and improvisation, with a broad palette of texture, sonority, rhythm, and ensemble fluidity, and a unique instrumentation. Horvitz's wide-ranging compositions provide a compelling platform for untethered improvisations, woven together by the dynamic ensemble interplay of four master practitioners: Wayne Horvitz (piano), Peggy Lee (cello), Sarah Schoenbeck (bassoon), and Riley Mulherkar (trumpet).

The Gravitas Quartet was formed in 2005, with the intention of bringing together three musicians I had been wanting to work with for quite some time. I met Sara Schoenbeck and Peggy Lee at the same moment, during “Time Flies” in Vancouver, a Derek Bailey “company” style hodge-podge of improvisers in various configurations, and although I had a fine time for three days the only thing I left knowing for sure was that I wanted to work with these two artists for as long as they would put up with me. Ron Miles was one of the greatest, and most lyrical, musicians of our time. Ron and I had worked together a bit, but I jumped at this opportunity to create something unique – the instrumentation, the approach, and these three incredible improvisers.

Ron Miles passed in 2022, a little more than a year ago. The musical telepathy among this ensemble was one of the highlights of my life as a composer and improviser, and to this day both Peggy and Sara are go to collaborators for a myriad of projects, and I consider them two of my closest associates on every level. That being said, and I am sure Peggy and Sara would agree, we all felt so blessed and honored to be in Ron’s company. Often the three of us would sort of lay the groundwork, and then Ron would pull something out his back pocket that just left us stunned – jaws dropped and shaking our heads.

No one will ever fill Ron’s shoes, but Riley Mulherkar is as good a candidate as any, and then some. It’s worth noting that the one time Ron Miles had to cancel on a gig, his first recommendation was Riley, and we are so pleased to have him with us to play this music.

-Wayne Horvitz, 2023

The Westerlies

The Westerlies, "an arty quartet...mixing ideas from jazz, new classical, and Appalachian folk" (New York Times) are a New York-based brass quartet comprised of childhood friends from Seattle: Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands on trumpet, and Andy Clausen and Willem de Koch on trombone. From Carnegie Hall to Coachella, The Westerlies navigate a wide array of venues and projects with the precision of a string quartet, the audacity of a rock band, and the charm of a family sing-along.

Formed in 2011, the self-described "accidental brass quartet" takes its name from the prevailing winds that travel from the West to the East. "Skilled interpreters who are also adept improvisers" (NPR's Fresh Air), The Westerlies explore jazz, roots, and chamber music influences to create the rarest of hybrids: music that is both "folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous" (NPR Music).



Event Photos
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Where is it happening?

Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Avenue North, Seattle, United States

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Tickets

USD 15.00 to USD 25.00

The Westerlies

Host or Publisher The Westerlies

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