Mike Westbrook Orchestra

"Mike Westbrook's Metropolis" (RCA Neon, 1971)






















Jazzis:
If the 1960s served as a period of establishment of the British Jazz scene, with scores of extremely talented instrumentalists and composers coming to prominence, surely the 1970s marked the “emancipation of British Jazz from American slavery”, a phrase brilliantly defined by British trumpeter / composer / musicologist / writer Ian Carr. One of the distinct heroes and champions of this new path was undoubtedly pianist / composer Mike Westbrook, whose compositions for large Jazz ensembles were the British answer and equivalent to the body of work composed by the great Duke Ellington. “Metropolis” marks a high point in a series of brilliant works composed by Westbrook and recorded by large ensembles comprising of the creme de la creme of British Jazz musicians. Westbrook sublimely expands the Ellingtonian framework with the inclusion of multi-layered sound ambience, group improvisation and Rock rhythms, creating a completely innovative and spectacular musical phenomenon, somewhat comparable to contemporary Classical music, but firmly based in Jazz idioms and traditions. “Metropolis” was recorded by an ensemble, which included 23 musicians, each and every one of which are absolute Masters of their trade, including Westbrook on piano, Mike Osborne, Ray Warleigh, Alan Skidmore, George Khan and John Warren on saxophones, Kenny Wheeler, Harold Beckett and Henry Lowther on trumpets, Malcolm Griffiths and Paul Rutherford on trombone, John Taylor on electric piano, Gary Boyle on guitar, Harry Miller and Chris Laurence on bass, Alan Jackson and John Marshall and drums and the divine Norma Winstone on vocals – more or less the entire core of modern British Jazz. The music is of course magnificent, full of pathos and expression with not a single dull moment from start to finish, and the performances absolutely chilling with one solo chasing another. There are few Jazz albums that come close to this masterpiece and although it is relatively little known by Jazz fans worldwide (as most great music) it is an absolute classic and a must for any serious listener, equivalent to hundreds of other less meaningful albums. Absolutely essential!


Complaint received from Mike Westbrook‏ himself... (July 5)