The Cortège (album)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The Cortège'' is an album by the
Mike Westbrook Michael John David Westbrook (born 21 March 1936) is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces. He is married to the vocalist, librettist and painter Kate Westbrook. Early work Mike Westbrook was born in Hig ...
Orchestra, performing a composition for jazz orchestra composed by Westbrook with texts from
Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...
,
Arthur Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he s ...
,
Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...
,
William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
,
Giuseppe Gioachino Belli Giuseppe Francesco Antonio Maria Gioachino Raimondo Belli (7 September 1791 – 21 December 1863) was an Italian poet, famous for his sonnets in Romanesco, the dialect of Rome. Biography Giuseppe Francesco Antonio Maria Gioachino Raimondo Bell ...
,
John Clare John Clare (13 July 1793 – 20 May 1864) was an English poet. The son of a farm labourer, he became known for his celebrations of the English countryside and his sorrows at its disruption. His work underwent major re-evaluation in the late 20t ...
,
Pentti Saarikoski Pentti Saarikoski (Pitkyarantsky District, Impilahti, now in the Republic of Karelia September 2, 1937 – Joensuu August 24, 1983) was a Finnish poet. He is considered one of the most important poets in the literary scene of Finland during t ...
, and other European poetry, which was recorded in 1982 and first released as a triple LP on the Original label and reissued as a double CD on
Enja Enja Records is a German jazz record company and label based in Munich which was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971. The label's first release was by Mal Waldron, and early releases included European and Jap ...
in 1993 and 2011.Mike Westbrook discography: album details
accessed July 17, 2018


Reception

The
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
review by Dave Lynch called the album "an often stunning work of massive scope and an indisputable highlight of Westbrook's career" and stated "''The Cortège'' might be too sprawling for a first investigation of Westbrook, but it warrants consideration as the centerpiece of any Westbrook collection". On ''
All About Jazz ''All About Jazz'' is a website established by Michael Ricci in 1995. A volunteer staff publishes news, album reviews, articles, videos, and listings of concerts and other events having to do with jazz. Ricci maintains a related site, ''Jazz Near ...
'', Chris May called it "one of finest achievements of British orchestral jazz".May, C.
All About Jazz Review
accessed July 17, 2018
''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
s Dave Gelly noted: "It's only recently that the evolution of distinctly European forms of jazz has been acknowledged, but it began decades ago. One of the first milestones was this huge, unsettling work. .... ''The Cortège'' evolved over several years and, if there is a definitive version, this 1982 recording is it".Gelly. D
The Observer Review
accessed July 17, 2018


Track listing

All compositions by Mike Westbrook # "It Starts Here" – 5:18 # "Democratie" – 7:55 # "Berlin 16.2.79" – 9:25 # "Erme Estuary" – 8:40 # "Guitar Solo" – 2:31 # "Knivshult/Ash Wednesday" – 4:54 # "Ruote Che Girano" – 6:48 # "Piano" – 3:06 # "Leñador" – 11:32 # "July '79" – 12:49 # "Enfance" – 14:03 # "Cordoba" – 8:11 # "Santarcangelo: Flee as a Bird" – 1:18 # "Santarcangelo: Evening" – 1:35 # "Santarcangelo: Jerusalem" – 2:27 # "Santarcangelo: Dawn" – 1:50 # "Santarcangelo: Piped Music" – 3:35 # "Santarcangelo: Dirge" – 0:55 # "Santarcangelo: Didn't He Ramble" – 1:41 # "Santarcangelo: Cadenza" – 3:39 # "Kyrie" – 6:12 # "A Hearth Burns: The Toper's Rant" – 8:49 # "A Hearth Burns: Une Vie" – 1:15 # "Graffitti" – 6:24 # "Duet" – 2:45


Personnel

*
Mike Westbrook Michael John David Westbrook (born 21 March 1936) is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces. He is married to the vocalist, librettist and painter Kate Westbrook. Early work Mike Westbrook was born in Hig ...
– piano, tuba *
Phil Minton Phil Minton (born 2 November 1940) is a British avant-garde jazz/ free-improvising vocalist and trumpeter. Minton is a highly dramatic baritone who tends to specialize in literary texts: he has sung lyrics by William Blake with Mike Westbrook' ...
– trumpet, voice *Dave Plews,
Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year ...
, Dick Pearce – trumpet *Malcolm Griffiths – trombone *
Kate Westbrook Kate Westbrook may refer to: *Kate Westbrook (musician) Kate Westbrook (born 18 September 1939) is an English painter and musician. Her musical work centres on her career as a vocalist, predominantly with the bands of her husband, British comp ...
– tenor horn, piccolo, bamboo flute, voice *Alan Sinclair, Dave Powell – tuba *Chris Hunter, Phil Todd, Chris Biscoe – saxophones *
Lindsay Cooper Lindsay Cooper (3 March 1951 – 18 September 2013) was an English bassoon and oboe player and composer. Best known for her work with the band Henry Cow, she was also a member of Comus, National Health, News from Babel and David Thomas and th ...
– bassoon, oboe, saxophone *
Brian Godding Brian Godding (19 August 1945 – 25 November 2023) was a Welsh pop, rock and jazz rock guitarist. He was a founding member of the psychedelic rock band Blossom Toes and was also a member of the jazz rock big band Centipede. Biography Godding w ...
– guitar * Georgie Born – cello *Steve Cook – bass *Dave Barry – drums


References


External links


Lindsay Cooper in "Democratie" from Mike Westbrook's ''The Cortege''
- at YouTube {{DEFAULTSORT:Cortege, The 1982 albums Mike Westbrook albums Enja Records albums