On Duke's Birthday

On Duke's Birthday
On Duke's Birthday
Live album by Mike Westbrook Orchestra
Released	1985
Recorded	May 12, 1984
Venue	Le Grand Theatre, Maison de la Culture, Amiens
Genre	Jazz
Length	74:34
Label	Hat Hut Hat ART 2012
Producer	Fiachra Trench
Mike Westbrook chronology

On Duke's Birthday is a live album by the Mike Westbrook Orchestra performing a five song suite dedicated to the memory of Duke Ellington which was recorded in France in 1984 and released on the Hat Hut label in 1985.^[1] The suite was commissioned by two festivals, Le Temps du Jazz and Jazz en France-Angouleme, to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Ellington.^[2]

Reception[]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Penguin Guide to Jazz	^[3]
Allmusic	^[4]
All About Jazz	^[5]
The Guardian	^[6]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz identified the album as part of their suggested "Core Collection" of essential jazz albums.^[3]

The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek stated "Ultimately, this is one of Westbrook's most accessible records, in that he leaves the vanguard completely out of the mix and moves instead toward opening up diatonic harmony to a set of colors and shades it perhaps hasn't encountered before, and the winner, of course, is the listener -- just take in the rave applause this band gets from the crowd. If you can only have one Mike Westbrook record, let it be this one".^[4]

On All About Jazz Chris May called it "An enduring album of idiosyncratically conceived and brilliantly realized orchestral jazz".^[5]

The Guardian's John Fordham rated the album 4 stars out of 5, saying, "Westbrook's catholic taste has made him more popular on the European continent than in his homeland, but this 1984 tribute to Duke Ellington not only confirms the depths of his jazz roots, but also how effectively he can evoke the spirits of his biggest heroes without mimicking them".^[6]

Track listing[]

All compositions by Mike Westbrook

"Checking in at Hotel Le Prieure" - 8:50
"On Duke's Birthday 1" - 16:20
"East Stratford Too-Doo" - 23:00
"On Duke's Birthday 2" - 19:00
"Music Is..." - 13:00

Personnel[]

Mike Westbrook - piano
Dominique Pifarély - violin
Georgie Born - cello
Brian Godding - electric guitar
Chris Biscoe - alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, baritone saxophone, piccolo, alto clarinet
Danilo Terenzi - trombone
Kate Westbrook - tenor horn, piccolo, bamboo flute, voice
Stuart Brooks, Phil Minton - trumpet, voice
Steve Cook - bass guitar
Tony Marsh - drums

References[]

^ Mike Westbrook discography accessed October 27, 2014
^ Nicholson, S., Mike Westbrook: England's Dreamer, JazzTimes, May 2005
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008) [1992]. "Mike Westbrook". The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). New York: Penguin. p. 1489. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Jurek, T., Allmusic Review, accessed October 27, 2014
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b May, C., All About Jazz Review, July 15, 2007
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b Fordham, John (2007-10-12). "Mike Westbrook, On Duke's Birthday". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2014-10-27.

[Mike_Westbrook_discography-1] Mike Westbrook discography accessed October 27, 2014

[2] Nicholson, S., Mike Westbrook: England's Dreamer, JazzTimes, May 2005

[Penguin_Guide-3] Jump up to: ^a ^b Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008) [1992]. "Mike Westbrook". The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). New York: Penguin. p. 1489. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

[Allmusic-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b Jurek, T., Allmusic Review, accessed October 27, 2014

[AllAboutJazz-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b May, C., All About Jazz Review, July 15, 2007

[Guardian-6] Jump up to: ^a ^b Fordham, John (2007-10-12). "Mike Westbrook, On Duke's Birthday". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2014-10-27.

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