|
Mike Westbrook has led and composed for a succession of big bands and small groups since the 1960s. His current sextet, based in the South West, first appeared on the scene in 2006. Described as “a little big band”, The Village Band draws on the New Orleans Brass Band tradition, on Blues,
Be-Bop and Contemporary Jazz, but also on Renaissance Music, Opera and Music Hall. The band’s repertoire includes two major original works for voice and acoustic brass, “Waxeywork Show” and “English Soup – The Battle of the Classic Trifle”, both featuring lyrics by Kate Westbrook. A mixed programme “All That Jazz” focuses on Mike Westbrook’s arrangements of classics by Morton, Ellington. Monk, Mingus and many more, plus Westbrook originals.
English Soup or the battle of the Classic Trifle
now available as a special limited edition DVD / CD for collectors
music also available as an mp3 download
The Village Band album ‘Waxeywork Show’ is on jazzprint
Listen to "Scattered and Cold" from the Waxeywork Show below. Further tracks can be heard on the Waxeywork Show CD page
"Finding new, expressive possibilities from within the depths of jazz tradition and risk-taking with a purpose. Them Westbrooks remain plugged into the zeitgeist, creating bold music that’s fizzy with contemporary relevance."
jazz review |
 |
All That Jazz, was a glorious exploration of some old favourites from a remarkably vital
and cheerful Dead man blues by Jelly Roll Morton, via a moving Goodbye porkpie hat by
Charles Mingus to a stunning encore of Shipwreck blues. In between, we heard the
William Blake London song, a Medieval March, Thelonious Monk, Tadd Dameron and a
rousing Rossini overture.
With such a small group and no explicit rhythm section, ensemble work was tight
throughout, but there were also stunning solos from Stan Willis on alto saxophone, Gary
Bayley tenor saxophone, Mike Brewer trumpet and particularly Sam Smith who produced
two of the most beautiful trombone solos I've heard for a long time.
Peter Bevan - Darlington & Stockton Times |
 |
|
The Waxeywork Show is a triumphant record that demonstrates staunch commitment to fundamentals – finding new expressive possibilities from within the depth of jazz tradition and risk-taking with a purpose.
The consistently high level of the instrumental playing is revelatory. Stan Willis’s alto is steeped in Johnny Hodges and Mike Brewer is a powerful lead trumpeter; his fulsome high notes behind Kate Westbrook on Bessie Smith’s “Shipwreck Blues” are pitched with unerring accuracy both to the note and to spirit. But this being a Westbrook record, the musicians are also challenged with a tricky new thirty minute composition, “The Waxeywork Show”. Kate’s scenario explores parallels between 19th Century freak shows and the Internet: “both have the power to corrupt through fascination,” she asserts. The piece climaxes with a nightmarish montage, like competing layers of musical activity are downloading simultaneously. The musicians have to pass through intricate bi-tonal harmonies and punchy grooves to get there; them Westbrooks remain plugged into the zeitgeist, creating bold music that’s fizzy with contemporary relevance.
Philip Clark - Jazz Review Feb/March 08 - Editor's Choice |
|
|
All this, set as it is to Mike Westbrook's pungent, powerful music vigorously performed by
the Village Band, is flawlessly sung by the dramatic but musicianly Kate Westbrook, and
the album is completed by a set of arrangements spanning decades of recorded jazz, from
Jelly Roll Morton's 'Dead Man Blues' and Bessie Smith's 'Shipwreck Blues' to 'Monk's Mood' and Neal Hefti's delicious 'Lil' Darlin'.
Anyone who witnessed the Westbrooks' 2006 London Jazz Festival performances will
already know how compelling their music is in a live setting; recorded in January 2007 in
Dawlish, this album provides an absorbing reminder of just how effective their unique
blend of jazz and theatrical elements can be.
Chris Parker -The Vortex |
|
villageband@westbrookjazz.co.uk |
