Brian Godding

Biography
Articles

Mike Westbrook: The Cortège Live At The BBC 1980

Read "The Cortège Live At The BBC 1980" reviewed by Duncan Heining

by Duncan Heining
April 12, 2026

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 ...

Album Review

Mike Westbrook: London Bridge Live In Zurich 1990

Read "London Bridge Live In Zurich 1990" reviewed by Chris May

by Chris May
November 15, 2022

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 ...