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Mike Westbrook: The Cortège Live At The BBC 1980
by Duncan Heining
Mike Westbrook turns ninety on 21st March. That would be reason enough to celebrate the man and his astonishing career in music, but add to that the release of the Mike Westbrook Orchestra's The Cortège Live at the BBC 1980 and balloons and bunting would seem in order. The original album is currently missing in action, so this live iteration also restores a major jazz composition to the catalogue. The music's realisation, along with the careful selection by ...
Continue ReadingMike Westbrook: London Bridge Live In Zurich 1990
by Chris May
Viewed from the other side of the Atlantic, Mike Westbrook is probably Britain's best kept secret. A composer, pianist and tubaist--above all, composer--Westbrook's recording career began in the late 1960s. Since then he has released upwards of fifty albums, spanning jazz rock through jazz and contemporary-classical fusions such as the 2 x CD London Bridge Live In Zurich 1990. Westbrook's albums have been performed by lineups ranging in size from trios through to, in this case, an eleven-piece jazz orchestra ...
Continue ReadingKate Westbrook: GRANITE
by Roger Farbey
Over the years, Kate Westbrook has recorded an impressive number of albums with her husband Mike; from 1975's For The Record onwards. She's released a clutch under her own name too, including Good-Bye Peter Lorre (2005), Cuff Clout (2004) and The Nijinska Chamber (2006)--all on Voiceprint Records. Without doubt, her vocal delivery is stylised and idiosyncratic, arguably reminding listeners of renowned German interwar cabaret and theatrical singers such as Lotte Lenya and Marlene Dietrich. However, she's not just a one ...
Continue ReadingGRANITE
by Duncan Heining
GRANITE is Kate Westbrook's fourth solo album, though saying so seems quite an artificial point given her partnership with husband Mike Westbrook over so many recordings. As he is quick to point out, Kate's texts are crucial to the shaping of compositions and projects. That said, GRANITE is Kate Westbrook's most ambitious record to date, its libretto matched perfectly by some of the most intriguing music her partner has created during his long career. In fact, these performances ...
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