London Bridge Is Broken Down

by Mike Westbrook

London Bridge Is Broken Down cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: 1988
  • Label: Venture
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Length: 2:18:59
  • Community rating: 4.14/5 from 4 ratings

Album Notes & Community Reviews

A sprawling, massively ambitious double album that serves as an epic musical interpretation of European history and wartime devastation. The British jazz composer seamlessly integrates avant-garde big band arrangements with classical lied and third stream sensibilities, featuring vocal performances sung across multiple languages. It is widely considered a towering, complex masterpiece of late-twentieth-century European jazz composition.

Genres

Descriptors: avant-garde, improvisation, ensemble, experimental, political, orchestral, theatrical, satirical

Tracklist

  1. London Bridge (London Bridge Is Broken Down) (14:19)
  2. Wenceslas Square (28:04)
  3. N盲he Des Geliebten (8:03)
  4. B.V.B.W (Belle-Vue Berlin Wall) (7:42)
  5. Traurig Aber Falsch (8:48)
  6. Ein Vogel (7:53)
  7. Viennese Waltz (5:50)
  8. F眉r Sie (19:27)
  9. Blighters (5:35)
  10. Les Morts (4:49)
  11. Picardie Three (14:02)
  12. Picardie Four (1:22)
  13. Une Fen锚tre (2:56)
  14. Picardie Six (6:24)
  15. Aucassin Et Nicolette (3:45)

Credits

  • Mike Westbrook - primary artist, composed by, arranged by, piano
  • Chris Biscoe - alto saxophone, baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone, alto clarinet
  • Pete Whyman - alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, clarinet
  • Steve Cook - bass guitar
  • Alain Mussafia - bassoon [le sinfonietta de picardie]
  • Anne Ducornet - cello [le sinfonietta de picardie]
  • Laurent Guiguen - cello [le sinfonietta de picardie]
  • Marie-France Plays - cello [le sinfonietta de picardie]

More from Mike Westbrook: full discography