FYC: The Westerlies
“FIGHT ON”
2026 GRAMMY-NOMINATED:
“Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella”
Andy Clausen, Addison Maye-Saxon, Riley Mulherkar & Chloe Rowlands, Arrangers (The Westerlies)
“Fight On” from The Westerlies June 2025 album Paradise
The opening track of the album begins with a memorable show of technical bravado and a swarm of insistent, bubbling sixteenth notes that buoy up this rugged rendition of the little-heard but still thunderous 19th-century Sacred Harp song “Fight On.”
As the source melody is passed around the quartet, the trumpet ostinato stubbornly drives forward, its motif uncannily mirroring the jab and pluck of a banjo.
The ensemble weaves through shifting meters and tight hockets with the precision of a string quartet and audacity of a rock band, building intensity until the final melody soars above, channeling the timeless spirit of the hymn.
STREAM THE FULL ALBUM
PRESS FOR "PARADISE" (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...They 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...This is music of great simplicity, thoughtfulness and beauty. It is not easy-listening; it’s amazing listening.”
★★★★★, Editors Pick
– Frank Alkyer, Downbeat Magazine
“For the brass quartet The Westerlies, “beyond category” rings true thanks to their unique blend of jazz, classical, new improvised music, chamber music and Americana.”
– Lee Mergner, JazzTimes Magazine
“a record that feels both historical, yet strikingly modern; full of muscular technicality and also the type of full-throated melodies that could easily get a crowd singing along instantly.”
– Ammar Kalia, Downbeat Magazine
"the sharpest improv-literate American brass quartet in the game”
“Carefully crafted to both exalt the origins of the tradition and to reimagine it's no-frills melodic brilliance in a contemporary context….a well-loved quilt, homespun and unadorned in its presentation, leaving plenty of room for the characteristics of each player to shine.”