The Westerlies - Paradise

The Westerlies

By Frank Alkyer  |   Published June 2025  

Paradise, the exceptional new recording by The Westerlies brass quartet, comes at a perfect time in history. The music — sublime, precise and deeply spiritual — serves as a balm for the soul during a worrisome era. While the headlines scream of the starving of Palestinians in Gaza, the killing of Jews in Washington, D.C., the upheaval of international trade wars and the persistent sowing of divisiveness, The Westerlies turn their mighty clarion sound to the Sacred Harp music of the American South dating back to the mid-1800s. The have reshaped, recast and elevated this choral music — named for The Sacred Harp, a shape-note songbook from 1844 — into something that’s beautifully soothing and timeless. Let’s start with two stellar guest spots on this 10-track program. The first, thrilling take is the title song, performed by folk vocalist Sam Amidon, who is no stranger to this music as the son of a family of Sacred Harp singers. His voice carries a calm, almost pleading tone that oozes honesty, backed by the quiet majesty of the quartet. It builds to a heart-filling crescendo before coming to a cliff-dropping stop. It’s a wonderful effect. The second is “Weeping May,” sung by the sweet, sentimental vocalist Aoife O’Donovan. She slides beautifully into the horn arrangement. The horns play a key role on both of these tunes as well as on the rest of the set. Consisting of trumpeters Riley Mulherkar and Chloe Rowlands along with trombonists Andy Clausen and Addison Maye-Saxon, The Westerlies have the kind of innate cohesiveness that’s only a gained by playing together over a long period of time, and in this case across eight studio albums. Along with the album’s renderings of classic Sacred Harp works, trombonist Clausen adds two of his own pieces: “The 5:10 To Ronkonkoma” and “The Royal Band.” Rowlands contributes “Kerhonkson,” and Mulherkar offers “The Evening Trumpet.” These composers have clearly done their homework, as their music weaves beautifully into the tapestry of these songs of grace. With the input of engineer Philip Weinrobe, the sound of Paradise is fantastic, each part beautifully sculpted and expertly mixed into a very natural, raw recording where every breath can be heard and the band’s interplay is clearly audible. This is music of great simplicity, thoughtfulness and beauty. It is not easy-listening; it’s amazing listening.

from https://downbeat.com