Westerlies Fest: JAM-Boree

Combining collaborative evening performances with daytime in-school concerts and a free community music workshop, Seattle-bred, New York-based brass quartet The Westerlies created Westerlies Fest to engage students and audiences in Seattle and give back to the city that raised them. Join The Westerlies for their first ever JAM-boree, a whole day dedicated to musical exploration and education for musicians and non-musicians alike. Here's what to expect:

12:00pm-1:45pm Improv Workshop

Join The Westerlies as they demystify the practice of musical improvisation. The Westerlies will break down various approaches to improvising in a multitude of musical settings, from jazz to chamber music and beyond. The fully-participatory games and exercises in this workshop will give musicians of all ability levels new tools for creating melodies over harmonic progressions, developing their ears, improvising in an ensemble setting, and establishing a unique voice as a soloist. Open to all ages and ability levels.

2:00pm-2:55pm Listening Party

The Westerlies will share some of their favorite recordings from the jazz world and beyond, breaking them down and revealing what makes them come to life. Intended for both the casual listener and the lifelong jazz fan, this workshop will give students a deeper understanding and a greater appreciation for the magic of America’s greatest art form: jazz.

3:00pm-3:55pm Open Rehearsal

Gain insight into the creative process in an open rehearsal with The Westerlies. The ensemble will work through their repertoire, including their new arrangement of Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte, in an open conversation with the audience, revealing rehearsal techniques and composition processes along the way.

4:00pm-5:00pm Westerlies Performance

More info here.

Full festival schedule at www.westerliesfest.org.

RSVPs are encouraged, but not required.

About The Westerlies

The Westerlies, "an arty quartet...mixing ideas from jazz, new classical, and Appalachian folk" (The 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).