Mike Westbrook: Paris review – reflections on a lifetime’s work

(ASC)Recorded live in Paris last year after his 80th birthday, this solo piano set finds Mike Westbrook reflecting on a lifetime’s work as a composer. As well as instrumental jazz, this has included everything from music-theatre to brass bands, mostly written in collaboration with his wife, Kate. Themes from some of these, such as Citadel/Room 315, The Ass and Paintbox Jane, appear among 20 short pieces, along with favourites by Duke Ellington, Bessie Smith and others. Westbrook’s st