The Westbrook Trio History Synopsis
In photo from R to L: Kate Westbrook, Chris Biscoe and Mike Westbrook
gave their first performance as a Trio at Wingfield College, Suffolk, in
1982. That year they started touring Arts Centres and Jazz Clubs in Britain
and made their first broadcast for BBC Radio 3. The following year they
continued to perform in the UK, made the first of many appearances in
Switzerland, and recorded their first album 'A Little Westbrook Music'. They
gave two London concerts in 1984, at the Purcell Room, and in the Bloomsbury
Festival. With the release of the album the Trio began to achieve wider
critical recognition in Europe, touring in Germany and, in 1985, making their
French debut at the Grenoble Festival. That year they played on the Edinburgh
Festival Fringe and recorded their second album 'Love for Sale' 'live' at the
Theatre Dunois, Paris. 'Love for Sale' was acclaimed in the European press.
Chris Parker in the Telegraph later nominated it as one of the best 10 albums
of the decade. In 1986 the Trio visited Canada for the first time, including a
memorable performance at the Victoriaville Festival, Quebec. They also
appeared at the Angouleme Festival and in a two trio project with the French
Trio Levallet/Marais/Pifarely at the Festivals of Mame-la-VaIIe and Bath.
Later that year the Trio's European travels took in Vienna, Berlin, Athens and
the Thessalonild Festival. 1987 saw the Trio's first Scandinavian visit with a
tour of Sweden organised by Rikskonserter, including a guest appearance with
the Swedish Radio Jazz Group. There was more work in France including the
Festivals of Rive-de-Gier and Besancon.Through 1988/89 the Trio continued with
further tours of Holland, France, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and played
at the Istanbul Festival.
Their
first Italian performance was at Modena in 1990, a year in which they also
performed in the Vale of Glamorgan Festival. During 1991/92, in between
touring as members of the Mike Westbrook Orchestra, the Trio
continued to perform in the UK, France and Germany where, at the Leverkasen
Festival, they played at the opening of an exhibition of Kate's paintings
and drawings. In 1993 they appeared at the Festival des Musiques
Innovatrices, St Etienne. They then went further afield, with the help of
the British Council playing at the Brisbane Biennial with Australian
musicians in performances of Big Band Rossini. They went on to tour
as a Trio in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong. They then crossed Canada,
playing jazz festivals in Quebec City, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and
Vancouver. Back in England they appeared for the first time at the
Cheltenham Literature Festival. 1994 began with Trio Angles, a joint project
with the Peter Whyman Trio at the Jazz Cafe, London. In the Autumn
the Westbrook Trio went on a tour of Germany and Swizerland, followed
by performances in London and the South of England. The Trio recorded a
track for the CD 'Sarajevo Suite', with texts by the Bosnaic poet Abdulah
Sidran, and took part, with other European artists, in the projects
first live performance, at the Festival des 3 8e Rugissants, Grenoble. At
the beginning of '95, the Trio travelled to Sicily, for concerts in Palenno
and Catania. They appeared at Festivals in Cologne and Berlin (the latter
with saxophonist Peter Whyman in place of Chris Biscoe) and in
Boulogne, the London Jazz Festival and in Aachen.
Kate Westbrook's new CD, "Cuff Clout" was released on Voiceprint on 16 February 2004. The official U.K. launch is on 1 April 2004 in London. In her neoteric Music-Hall, - "a Music-Hall for the 21st century", Kate brings together the disparate elements of traditional Music-Hall in a thoroughly contemporary context. Her lyrics embrace tragedy and comedy, and range from high art to knock-about. By inviting 8 composers from across the whole spectrum of contemporary music to set her texts, Kate has ensured a rich and surprising mix of musical genres. Kate and her accomplice John Winfield produce an astonishing variety of vocal performances and characterisations, sometimes solo, sometimes as a double act, as they move through a sequence of dramatically varied musical settings. The Westbrook Trio are continuing their 25th Anniversary Season with a new work and album L'ascenseur/The Lift, with performances in the U.K. and in Europe. The meeting of Galileo and Milton in a bar north of Rome, a lunar eclipse over the Indian Ocean, trouble in Vancouver, the bats of Thessaloniki, the monsters of Duisburg - just some of the images conjured up in The Trio's new jazz cabaret - a magical elevator ride through 20 years of geographical and musical travel. Chanson Irresponsable U.K. Autumn Tour With dates fixed in November 2004 for Plymouth, Teignmouth and Bristol, the tour is beginning to take shape.