Mike Westbrook Orchestra - Catania

The Guardian 80

(Westbrook)

A poignant moment, with Brexit looming, to contemplate this vivid example of what was possible 27 years ago. In July 1992, jazz composer Mike Westbrook, with 24 musicians, plus crew and guests, flew to Catania, Sicily, for a three-evening festival of Westbrook’s music. It took place in the open air, in the heart of the city, and admission was free.

The music on this double CD has been garnered from surviving tapes and cassettes made at the time, although the quality is remarkably good. Most of it comes from the evening devoted to what Westbrook called his European Song Book, including settings of poems by Lorca and Blake, and arrangements of songs by Brecht and Weill. There’s also a bravura treatment of It Don’t Mean a Thing, with phenomenal soprano saxophone from Peter Whyman. In fact, this was a cracking good band altogether, combining old Westbrook hands such as Whyman and fellow saxophonist Chris Biscoe with brilliant newcomers like Alan Barnes (alto saxophone and clarinet) and vibraphonist Anthony Kerr. Recalling the event, Westbrook writes that the Catania festival was “the best gift a composer ever had”.