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| Steven Lugerner | The Westerlies |
Steven Lugerner is a multi-reedist living in San Francisco, CA. His compositions have been described as “a textured, nearly seamless blend of composition and improvisation” by Francis Davis of The Village Voice, while the New York Times calls him “an impeccably trained multi-reedist, with an emphasis on ‘multi’”. Lugerner’s new solo project, Gravitations, samples a series of improvisations from songwriter Angelo Spagnolo and pianist Fred Hersch. Those samples are then re-arranged and orchestrated for multiple woodwinds and performed live through cassettes players and amplification. The aural result is music that juxtaposes the improvised with the composed.
The Westerlies are a New York based brass quartet comprised of four friends from Seattle, Washington. Avid explorers of cross-genre territory, The Westerlies are a collectively run ensemble 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. The Westerlies have premiered over 40 original works for brass quartet since their inception in 2011, and crafted an approach that Dave Douglas had 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.” The Westerlies music exudes the warmth of their longstanding friendships, and reflects the broad interests of its members.
Their 2012-13 Season included engagements at The Festival of New Trumpet Music, Juilliard in Aiken Festival, The Juilliard School, Shapeshifter Lab, and The Earshot Jazz Festival, and collaborations with Dave Douglas, Bill Frisell and Juilliard Dance. In addition, The Westerlies were invited to perform the music of Wayne Horvitz at The Stone in May 2013. The project was later recorded during the The Westerlies annual residency on Lopez Island, WA and released on Songlines Recordings May 13th, 2014.