Mike Westbrook

Biography

Mike Westbrook (21 March 1936 to 11 April 2026) was an English jazz pianist, composer and bandleader from High Wycombe, a key figure in British jazz from the 1960s onward. He led the Mike Westbrook Concert Band, Brass Band and Orchestra through more than 50 albums, from 'Celebration' (1967) on #Deram# to large scale works such as 'Citadel/Room 315' (1975), many of them in collaboration with his wife, the singer and writer Kate Westbrook. In March 1977 his Brass Band merged with *Henry Cow* and singer *Frankie Armstrong* to form *The Orckestra*. Westbrook was appointed OBE, and in 2016, in his 80th year, he recorded the solo piano album 'PARIS'.