Theo Bleckmann & The Westerlies
In June of 2018, Theo Bleckmann and The Westerlies worked in residence at Yellow Barn music center in Putney, Vermont, to pair songs of resistance with songs of refuge, seeking to balance music’s integral role in protest movements with the power of songs to provide internal solace amidst external turmoil.
This balance is perhaps no better demonstrated than in the music of Joni Mitchell. Mitchell first recorded The Fiddle and the Drum on her 1969 album Clouds, and its anti-war message has been associated with a number of resistance movements since the 60’s.
One of the original pieces in the program draws its inspiration from the world of poetry. Trombonist Andy Clausen’s “Land” was composed while in residence at Yellow Barn in June 2018, and sets words from Agha Shahid Ali’s poem of the same title. Exploring the complexities of life as an Indian-American immigrant, Agha’s work colorfully illustrates the thematic and cultural poles of past and present; America and India, Islamic and American geography, American cities and former American Indian tribes.
Current Release
2021
Westerlies Records
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