Wikipedia

Mike Westbrook

Michael John David WestbrookOBE(born 21 March 1936) is an Englishjazzpianist, composer, and writer oforchestratedjazz pieces. He is married to the vocalist, librettist and painterKate Westbrook.[1]

Mike Westbrook
Westbrook performing at hisWilliam BlakeProject, "Glad Day", in London on 6 December 2008
Background information
Birth nameMichael John David Westbrook
Born(1936-03-21)21 March 1936(age 88)
High Wycombe,England
GenresAvant-garde jazz
Occupation(s)Jazz pianist,composer
InstrumentPiano
Years active1958–present
Websitewww.westbrookjazz.co.uk

Early work

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Mike Westbrook was born inHigh Wycombe,Buckinghamshire,England,[1]and grew up inTorquay.[1]After a spell in accountancy and hisNational Service[2](some of it in Germany) he went to art school, studying painting, inPlymouth.There he also began his first bands in 1958,[2][3]soon joined by such musicians asJohn Surman,[1]Lou GareandKeith Rowe.

After moving to London in 1962,[2]Westbrook led numerous bands, large and small, and played regularly atthe Old Placeand the Little Theatre Club at Garrick Yard,St Martin's Lane.[1]Together with Chris McGregor'sBrotherhood of Breath,Westbrook shared the role of house-band atRonnie Scott's Jazz Club.[4]

He became a key figure in the development ofBritish jazz,producing several big-band records for theDeramlabel, with the newly formed Mike Westbrook Concert Band, between 1967 and 1969. These featured such musicians as Surman,Mike OsborneandHarry Miller.The band varied in size from 10 to 26 musicians.[5]

In 1968 his band made their international debut at theMontreux Festivalwith Malcolm Griffiths, Alan Jackson, Harry Miller, Mike Osborne and John Surman.[6]

His music was given exposure on BBC Radio, on theJazz ClubandJazz Sceneprogrammes on BBC Radio One, and he started to act as a presenter and commentator on new British Jazz through 1968 and 1969. He was featured on BBC TV, whenJazz Scenetransferred to the BBC 2 TV service. The station broadcast The Mike Westbrook Concert Band performing 'Metropolis', based on Westbrook's impressions of first visiting London, on Tuesday 25 November 1969 at 20.45 from the Ronnie Scott Club. The British Arts Council awarded Westbrook a bursary to develop 'Metropolis' for an enlarged Concert Band, and the jazz suite was further broadcast on BBC Radio Three on Friday 9 January 1970 at 21.00. Westbrook's compositions and performances were regularly broadcast by the BBC throughout the 1970s and 1980s.[7]'Metropolis' was recorded at Landsdowne Studios, London, on 3, 4 and 5 August 1971 and released by on RCA Victor in the UK and Japan.[8]A further major extended orchestral composition, 'Citadel/Room 315', featuring saxophonistJohn Surman,[1]was recorded in March 1975.[9]

The 1970s saw a wide range of different projects.Cosmic Circus,[1]jointly founded withJohn Fox,who was also a composer, specialised in large scale, one-off high technology shows involving high-divers, tight-rope, carnival processions and more. It was part ofEarthrise Tourin the UK (May 1970 to October 1971).[5][10][11][12]This included also singer/vocalistNorma Winstonewho performed on several of the band's albums at the time.

Adrian Mitchelldrew Mike Westbrook in for his musicalTygeron the life ofWilliam Blakefor theRoyal National Theatre.This would become a major influence on Mike Westbrook's work (see paragraph on later work below).

In 1972 and 1973, he also worked in the context of his jazz-rock bandSolid Gold Cadillac.[1]The most consequential effect of this was the participation ofPhil Minton.His unmistakable voice would feature in many of Westbrook's later projects. A live performance ofSolid Gold Cadillac(at the Paris Theatre in London) has been repeatedly broadcast byBBC Radio 6between 2002 and 2007.[13]

In March 1977, the Mike Westbrook Brass Band,avant-rockgroupHenry Cowand folk singerFrankie Armstrongmerged to formthe Orckestra.The ensemble performed in London and several cities in Europe, their last concert being inBordeaux,France, in May 1978.[14]

Later work

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His work for the theatre began withAdrian Mitchell'sTyger,a celebration ofWilliam Blake,staged by theRoyal National Theatrein 1971.[1]This became a vehicle for his Brass Band of the 1970s and 1980s[15]and the LPThe Westbrook Blake – Bright As Firefollowed on in 1980. A revised and expanded version of the work was re-recorded in 1997 and namedGlad Day.Westbrook recorded the poem "The Human Abstract"in 1982.[16]

The Brass Band also recordedMama Chicago,described as a "Jazz Cabaret", which featured the voices of Phil Minton and Kate Westbrook. The album was released on CD for the first time in 2007. More recently Mike Westbrook has developed the work further and it now includes an adult choir and on occasion, a children's choir at live performances.

Further works of note includeOn Duke's Birthday,which was dedicated to the memory ofDuke Ellington,which was reissued on CD in the summer of 2007,Big Band Rossini,which was featured in the 1992 BBC Proms, andChanson Irresponsable(2002), commissioned byBBC Radio 3,which brings together jazz and classical musicians in the New Westbrook Orchestra. Westbrook was awarded anOBEin 1988, and in 2004 theUniversity of Plymouthawarded him an Honorary Doctorate of Music.

Other projects include ART WOLF inspired by the life and work of the Alpine painterCaspar Wolf.In this Kate and Mike Westbrook are joined by saxophonists Pete Whyman andChris Biscoe.In another project the couple have been joined by four leadingDevonmusicians to form the Village Band. The acoustic brass band perform many jazz standards and an original piece, the Waxeywork Show, with music written by Mike and text by Kate. The band perform mainly in the Devon andCornwallarea and in 2006 they performed several times at theLondon Jazz Festival.

More recent projects includeFine 'n Yellow,a piece written in celebration of the lives of Margery and John Styles, two friends who were founders of the Westbrook newsletter,The Smith's Academy Informer.The piece was recorded and CD copies were given to subscribers of the newsletter. It has since had a general CD release. Kate and Mike were once again joined by saxophonists Pete Whyman and Chris Biscoe. Steve Berry played bass andJon Hisemanfeatured on drums. The piece received its first public performance in a concert that marked Mike Westbrook's 75th birthday atKings Placein London on 2 April 2011. The musicians at the performance with Kate and Mike Westbrook were Chris Biscoe, Chris Caldwell and Andy Tweed, saxophones; Karen Street, saxophone and accordion; Steve Berry, bass; and Simon Pearson, drums. Another work was premiered at this concert,The Serpent Hit,which used the above musicians but without Steve Berry.The Serpent Hit,likeFine 'n Yellow,has texts by Kate Westbrook and music by Mike Westbrook. Yet another project finds Mike working with some of the finest west country musicians inThe Mike Westbrook Big Band.They play a number of Westbrook originals and Mike's arrangements of pieces byDuke Ellingtonand others.[17]

In 2012, the trio releasedThree into Wonderfull,an album digitally re-mastered byJon Hiseman,presenting a cross-section of the group's recordings over three decades as well as previously unreleased material from the mid-1990s.[18]

The Mike Westbrook Big Band, also now known as The Uncommon Orchestra, released an album calledA Bigger Showin 2016. Recorded in concert at the Barnfield Theatre (Exeter) by Jon Hiseman and Miles Ashton, it is a reworking ofthe Waxeywork Showoriginally performed by The Village Band. The 21-member line-up include long-term Westbrook collaborators such as Dave Holdsworth andAlan Wakeman,as well as younger, rising musicians.

Mike Westbrook was 80 years old in 2016 and as part of the celebrations recorded his first solo piano album for 40 years, entitledPARIS.It was recorded live over two nights at Hélène Aziza's art gallery in Paris by drummerJon Hiseman.

Discography

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As leader/co-leader

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  • Celebration(Deram,1967)
  • Release(Deram, 1969) – UK LP has a 1969 publishing date on the label and 1968 on the sleeve, most internet sources suggest 1968 as the year of release.
  • Marching SongVol. 1 & 2 (Deram, 1970)[2LP] – rec. 1969
  • Love Songs(Deram, 1970)
  • Metropolis(RCA Neon,1971)
  • Tyger(RCA,1971)
  • Live(Cadillac,1972)
  • Solid Gold Cadillac,Solid Gold Cadillac(RCA, 1972)
  • Solid Gold Cadillac,Brain Damage(RCA, 1973)
  • Citadel/Room 315(RCA, 1974)
  • For The Record(Transatlantic,1975)
  • Love/Dream and Variations(Transatlantic, 1976)
  • Piano(Original, 1978) – rec. 1976–77
  • Goose Sauce(Original, 1978)
  • Mama Chicago(RCA, 1979)[2CD]
  • The Westbrook Blake – Bright As Fire(Original, 1980)
  • The Paris Album(Polydor, 1981)[2LP]
  • The Cortège(Original, 1983) – rec. 1982
  • A Little Westbrook Music(Westbrook, 1983)
  • On Duke's Birthday(Hathut,1985) – live rec. 1984
  • Love For Sale(hat ART, 1986)[2LP] – rec. 1985
  • Pier Rideswith Kate Westbrook, Peter Whyman, Brian Godding (Westbrook, 1986)
  • Westbrook-Rossini(hat ART, 1987) – rec. 1986
  • London Bridge Is Broken Downwith Kate Westbrook (Venture, 1988)[3LP] – rec. 1987
  • Off Abbey Road(TipToe, 1990) – rec. 1989
  • Westbrook-Rossini, Zürich Live 1986(hat ART, 1994) – live rec. 1986
  • Stage Setwith Kate Westbrook (ASC, 1996) – rec. 1995
  • Bar Utopia(ASC, 1996)
  • Love or Infatuationwith Kate Westbrook (ASC, 1997)
  • The Orchestra of Smith's Academy(Enja, 1998) – rec. 1992, 1995
  • Platterback(PAO, 1999) – rec. 1998
  • Glad Day (Settings of William Blake)(Enja, 1999)[2CD] – rec. 1997
  • The Ass(Jazzprint, 2001) – rec. 1985
  • L'ascenseur: Lift(Jazzprint, 2002)
  • Chanson Irresponsablewith The New Westbrook Orchestra (Enja, 2003)[2CD]
  • Art Wolfwith Kate Westbrook (Altrisuoni, 2005) – rec. 2004
  • Waxeywork Showwith The Village Band (Jazzprint, 2007)
  • Allsorts(ASC, 2009) – compilation
  • Fine 'n' Yellowwith Kate Westbrook (Gonzo Multimedia, 2010) – rec. 2009
  • Mama Chicago(Gonzo Multimedia, 2010)[DVD-Video] – rec. 1981
  • Three Into Wonderfull(Voiceprint,2012) – compilation
  • The Serpent Hitwith Kate Westbrook (Westbrook, 2013)
  • Glad Day – Live(Westbrook, 2014)[DVD-Video + CD] – live
  • A Bigger Show(ASC, 2016)[2CD] – live rec. 2015
  • PARIS(ASC, 2016)
  • Starcross Bridge(hatology, 2017)
  • Last Night At The Old Place(Cadillac, 2018)
  • Catania(Westbrook, 2019)
  • Love and Understanding: Citadel/Room 315 Sweden '74(My Only Desire, 2020)[2LP/CD] – live rec. 1974
  • London Bridge Live in Zurich 1990(Westbrook, 2022) – live rec. 1990

Singles

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Bibliography

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  • Ian Carr,Music Outside: Contemporary Jazz in Britain,2nd edn. London:Northway Publications,2008,ISBN978-0955090868
  • Duncan Heining,And Did Those Feet: Six British Jazz Composers,London:Jazz in Britain,2023,ISBN978-1916320666

See also

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References

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  1. ^abcdefghiColin Larkin,ed. (1997).The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music(Concise ed.).Virgin Books.p. 1245.ISBN1-85227-745-9.
  2. ^abcThe Wire, 1985
  3. ^"Official Kate and Mike Westbrook Website".12 February 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 16 July 2011.
  4. ^"Mike Westbrook: England's Dreamer",Jazz Times,May 2005.
  5. ^abIan Carr, Digby Fairweather, Brian Priestly (eds),The Rough Guide to Jazz,3rd edition, 2004.
  6. ^"Montreux Sounds official website".Montreuxsounds.Archived fromthe originalon 14 June 2011.
  7. ^"Search Results - BBC Genome".Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.
  8. ^"Mike Westbrook Orchestra - Metropolis".Discogs.1971.
  9. ^Cotterrell, Roger. ‘Recording Mike Westbrook’s ‘Citadel’’Jazz Journalvol 28, no. 6 (June 1975) 4-5.
  10. ^"Archived version from 2008".Archived fromthe originalon 30 April 2008.Retrieved3 August2021.
  11. ^"John Fox talks to David Haley".Ashdendirectory.org.uk/.2008.Retrieved13 July2013.
  12. ^Chilton, John (ed.),Who's Who of British Jazz: 2nd Edition,Continuum International Publishing, 2004, p. 384.ISBN0-826-4723-46
  13. ^"Mike Westbrook + Kate Westbrook: Jazz, Avantgarde, Opera".Westbrookjazz.de.Archived fromthe originalon 31 August 2010.
  14. ^"Henry Cow Chronology".Calyx: The Canterbury Music Website.Retrieved29 December2019.
  15. ^Cotterrell, Roger. ‘Mike Westbrook: Taking Music to the People’Jazz Forum39 (Jan 1976), 38-41.
  16. ^PhilJohnson (5 June 1999)."Arts: Looking for a lost England".Independent.co.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 14 May 2022.Retrieved17 August2013.
  17. ^Duncan Heining.And Did Those Feet… Six British Jazz Composers(2023)
  18. ^"Three into wonderfull".Westbrookjazz.co.uk.Retrieved13 July2013.
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