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 Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands on trumpet, and Andy Clausen and Addison Maye-Saxon 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). Over the past fourteen years, The Westerlies have served as high emissaries of a genre-agnostic musical language that upends presumptions of the brass tradition. The group's rewarding forays into gospel, union work songs, experimental Jazz, contemporary classical, and the modern American songbook, along with indie-folk collaborations with Fleet Foxes, Aoife O’Donovan, and Haley Heynderickx, have cemented The Westerlies among the most adventurous and versatile instrumental groups in the world.