Mike Westbrook

Michael John David 'Mike' Westbrook (born 21 March 1936 in High Wycombe) is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces.

Early work

After moving to London in 1962

He became a key figure in the development of British Jazz, producing several big band records with the newly formed Mike Westbrook Concert Band between 1967 and 1969 for the Deram label, featuring such musicians as Surman, Mike Osborne and Harry Miller. The band varied in size from 10 to 26 musicians. In 1968 his band made their international debut at the Montreux Festival with Malcolm Griffiths, Alan Jackson, Harry Miller, Mike Osborne and John Surman

The 1970s saw a wide range of different projects.

Cosmic Circus, jointly founded with John Fox specialized in large scale, one-off high technology shows involving high-divers, tight-rope, carnival processions and more. It was part of Earthrise Tour in the UK (May 1970 to October 1971).

In March 1977 the Mike Westbrook Brass Band, avant-rock group Henry Cow and folk singer Frankie Armstrong merged to form The Orckestra. The ensemble performed in London and several cities in Europe, their last concert being in Bordeaux, France in May 1978.

Later Work

Further works of note include 'On Duke's Birthday' which was dedicated to the memory of Duke Ellington, which was reissued on CD in the summer of 2007, 'Big Band Rossini' which was featured in the 1992 BBC Proms and (2002), commissioned by BBC Radio 3, which brings together jazz and classical musicians in the New Westbrook Orchestra. Mike was awarded an OBE in 1988, and in 2004 the University of Plymouth awarded him an Honorary Doctorate of Music.

He continues to produce jazz scores, many for the theatre with his wife, the singer/songwriter Kate Westbrook. He was featured in the 2003 BBC documentary, Jazz Britannia.

Mike's current projects include ART WOLF inspired by the life and work of the Alpine painter Caspar Wolf. In this Kate & Mike Westbrook are joined by saxophonists Pete Whyman & Chris Biscoe. In a more recent project the couple have been joined by four leading Devon musicians 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 and Cornwall area and in 2006 they performed several times at the London Jazz Festival.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Bibliography

Sources