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LP
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ACL 044LP
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Vinyl reissue of The Mike Westbrook Concert Band's Marching Song Vol. 1, recorded and released in 1969 on Decca's Deram label. Originally released as a double-LP (also sold as two separate records), and therefore quite unusual for the time, especially for jazz. It comprised a suite of compositions by Mike Westbrook, with three tracks on Vol. 2 (ACL 045LP) written by John Surman, and based on the concept of the vainglorious futility of war. Vol. 1's "Hooray!" begins with roaring crowd noise, years before sampling was even heard of, and not dissimilar to the opening of Weather Report's "Nubian Sundance" on Mysterious Traveller (1974). Then come the drums, beating in unison courtesy of John Marshall and Alan Jackson. "Landscape" begins with Westbrook alone on piano but a highlight of this longish piece is the arco bass duet featuring Barre Phillips and Harry Miller sounding surprisingly like a string quartet to the unaware. "Waltz (for Joanna)" is a gorgeous piece of writing embellished by a peerless soaring soprano solo by Surman. Following a somber short ensemble link track, "Landscape II", Paul Rutherford produces an appropriately free trombone solo on "Other World".
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LP
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ACL 045LP
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Vinyl reissue of The Mike Westbrook Concert Band's Marching Song Vol. 2, recorded and released in 1969 on Decca's Deram label. It's hardly surprising that Mike Westbrook reigned supreme in the latter quarter of the 1960s and early '70s. His big band was voted top of that category in the late-lamented Melody Maker British jazz polls for 1970 (and the two years either side of that). In the same year, his third album, Marching Song, recorded a year earlier came third in the category "LP Of The Year" (the number one album that year was John McLaughlin's seminal Extrapolation, so there was exceptionally strong competition). This album, recorded and released in 1969 on Decca's Deram label, was a double LP (also sold as two separate records), and therefore quite unusual for the time, especially for jazz. It comprised a suite of compositions by Westbrook, with three tracks on Vol. 2 written by John Surman, and based on the concept of the vainglorious futility of war.
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LP
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HE 70001LP
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Reissue of the Mike Westbrook Concert Band's Love Songs, originally released in 1970. Highly sought-after British jazz-rock with some vocals thrown in by Norma Winstone. Love Songs was recorded at Tangerine Studios, 1970, and it is so refreshing, choral and utterly distinctive with a staggeringly good group of musicians led by Westbrook and Surman. A mix of the melodic and the wistful, backed by a groovy beat, reissue now available for this classic masterpiece.
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