On Duke's Birthday | ||||
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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 | ||||
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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]
Review scores | |
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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]
All compositions by Mike Westbrook
Far East Suite is an album by Duke Ellington that won the Grammy Award in 1968 for Best Instrumental Jazz Performance – Large Group or Soloist with Large Group. Ellington and Billy Strayhorn wrote the compositions. The album was reissued in 1995 with four previously unreleased alternate takes. In 2003, Bluebird Records issued the album on CD with additional bonus takes.
Out of the Cool is a jazz album by The Gil Evans Orchestra, recorded in 1960 and released on the Impulse! label the following year. The album was one of Impulse!'s first four albums, released together, and featured a gatefold design and high production values.
Such Sweet Thunder is a Duke Ellington album, released in 1957. The record is a twelve-part suite based on the work of William Shakespeare.
Soul Call is a 1967 live album by Duke Ellington and his orchestra, recorded live at the Juan-les-Pins/Antibes Jazz Festival on the Côte d'Azur. Ella Fitzgerald appeared with Ellington and his band at the same festival, and a more complete version of Ellington's appearance at the festival is documented on the 1998 album Ella and Duke at the Cote D'Azur.
Jumping the Creek is an album by jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd, recorded in January 2004 by Lloyd with Geri Allen, Robert Hurst and Eric Harland.
The Ellington Suites is an album by American pianist, composer, and bandleader Duke Ellington which collects three suites recorded in 1959, 1971, and 1972 released on the Pablo label in 1976. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band in 1976. Ellington and Billy Strayhorn wrote "The Queen's Suite" for Queen Elizabeth II who was presented with a single pressing of the recording, which was not commercially issued during Ellington's lifetime.
New Orleans Suite is the eighth studio album by American pianist, composer, and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded and released on the Atlantic label in 1970. The album features the final recordings of longtime Ellington saxophonist Johnny Hodges, who died between the album's two recording sessions. The album won a Grammy Award in 1971 for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band.
The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse is a studio album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded in 1971 and released on the Fantasy label in 1975. Like other world music-influenced suites composed in the last decade of his life, The Afro-Eurasian Eclipse is considered among Ellington's "late-period masterpieces."
Togo Brava Suite is an album by American pianist, composer, and bandleader Duke Ellington. It was recorded in England and released by United Artists Records in 1971. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance by a Big Band in 1972. The album was later reissued on CD by Blue Note in 1994, and studio recordings of the complete "Togo Brava Suite" were released in 2001 by Storyville.
Festival Session is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded for the Columbia Records label in 1959. The album was rereleased on CD in 2004 with two bonus tracks.
Ellington Uptown is an album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded for the Columbia label in 1951 & 1952. The album was re-released on CD in 2004 with additional tracks recorded in 1947 and originally released as the Liberian Suite EP.
Latin American Suite is a studio album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington mainly recorded in 1968, with one track completed in 1970, and released on the Fantasy label in 1972.
Prairie Dog is the eighth album by American pianist and arranger Duke Pearson, and his second for the Atlantic label, recorded in 1966.
Chapter Three: Viva Emiliano Zapata is an album by Argentinian saxophonist and composer Gato Barbieri released on the Impulse! label.
Ellington Is Forever is an album by guitarist Kenny Burrell featuring compositions associated with Duke Ellington recorded in 1975 and released on the Fantasy Records label. Originally released as a double album set in 1975 it was rereleased on CD in 1993 as Ellington Is Forever Volume 1.
Overtime is an album by the Dave Holland Big Band that won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album in 2005. Recorded in 2002, the music centers on the four-movement "Monterey Suite", a piece commissioned by the Monterey Jazz Festival. The big band on this record is on the small side, at thirteen members. The rhythm section consists of vibraphone, bass, and drums, continuing the format established over many Dave Holland Quintet records. This is the first album to appear on Holland's label, Dare2, and the last of his releases to feature drummer Billy Kilson.
Hagar's Song is an album by saxophonist Charles Lloyd and pianist Jason Moran recorded in 2012 and released on the ECM label.
The Original Ellington Suite is an album by drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton's Quintet recorded in 1958 but not released on the Pacific Jazz label until 2000. The album was shelved and Hamilton recorded another set of Ellington tunes with a different group that was released as Ellington Suite in 1959.
Exhale, is the final album by saxophonist Arthur Blythe which was recorded in 2002 and released on the Savant label the following year.
Westbrook-Rossini is an album by Mike Westbrook, featuring interpretations of works by Gioachino Rossini which was recorded in Switzerland in 1986 and first released on the hat ART label the following year.