I first heard a large proportion of my all-time favourite British/Britain-based jazz musicians, live or on record, when they were members of one Mike Westbrook band or another – to name just a few, there were John Surman, Mike Osborne, Alan Skidmore, Harry Miller, Kenny Wheeler, Alan Jackson… and Westbrook himself, of course. Since then Westbrook’s various ensembles (I guess that should be “The Westbrooks’” as Mike’s wife Kate has played a big part in the process) have constantly served as hothouses for the maturing of new talent.
Although born in High Wycombe, Mike grew up in Torquay and formed his first band in Plymouth in 1958. This was dissolved when he moved to London in 1962 but gradually various members of that band ended up in London too, reuniting in the band that performed in remarkable projects such as Release and Marching Song. He and Kate have been settled back in south Devon for many years now, enriching the regional scene as well as continuing to create work that stands comparison with anything he has done before. As he approaches his 90th birthday next spring his musical vision is as sharp and imaginative as ever.
In concert in Torquay in November 2025 he showcased the compositions featured on the album Band Of Bands, recorded at the Ashburton Arts Centre in 2023 and self-released the following year. The personnel was the same except that Matt Bourne (who Mike announced as “the guest who stayed”) was added on electric piano. Alongside the Westbrooks and Bourne the band comprises five long-established collaborators: Chris Biscoe (sax), Pete Whyman (sax & clarinet), Karen Street (accordion), Marcus Vergette (bass) and Coach York (drums).
You might think that three keyboards would crowd each other but Westbrook, Street and Bourne are too skilled for that to happen. Westbrook allowed the others plenty of space, taking just a few solos that appeared to channel Ellington via Monk. Bourne contributed rich solos and Street (known to the non-jazz community as a member of the Strictly Come Dancing ensemble!) supplied satisfyingly bluesy playing in solos and as part of the ensembles. Both reedsmen were on sharp and agile form and Vergette and York thoroughly took care of business, providing steadfast support throughout.
Kate’s singing is as sharply focused as ever, and the range of her voice has to be experienced in person to be believed. Her lower register almost makes your chest vibrate. Much of the repertoire is designed to showcase the dramatic dimensions of her singing, and it has often included pieces that evoke Weimar Germany. At this gig that element was represented by Black Market, a song composed by Friedrich Hollander, a prolific composer for films who was born in London and moved to Berlin but in 1933 had to flee in because he was Jewish. The Westbrooks’ version of it is as dark and menacing as the lyrics demand and here showcased one of Kate’s most extreme and chilling performances.
The rest of the programme consisted of originals by Mike and Kate jointly, plus a couple by Mike (Glad Day and the splendidly funky Blues For Terenzi) and Mike’s arrangement of Billy Strayhorn’s Johnny Come Lately. Here and there, the performances managed to meld menace and ebullience, as on Doll’s House, and there were several opportunities for the saxophonists to cut loose, which they took to produce ebullient and gripping solos.
The concert climaxed with an opportunity for audience participation, when What I Like asked for us to call out in response to Kate’s statements of what she likes: e.g. “I Like Wine,” “What Wine?,” “Any Wine.” A fun end to an often intense and always riveting concert. The album is still available digitally and on CD and effectively captures the buzz of the live performance.
Mike Westbrook’s Band Of Bands, The Livermead Cliff Hotel, Torquay, 23 November 2025
