We are saddened at the loss of British jazz giant Mike Westbrook who passed on 11th April 2026 shortly after his 90th birthday. Westbrook was a significant figure on the British jazz scene since the 1960s. He led his Concert Band combining incredible composition, adaptation and improvisation that helped to shape the meaning of British jazz music.
Mike Gavin, presenter of the regular Jazz Progression programme, recently put together a special representative playlist of Mike Westbrook’s music which aired on One Jazz to celebrate his 90th birthday on 21st March. Listen below:
Mike Westbrook Sextet – Marching Song (1966)
The Mike Westbrook Concert Band with Norma Winstone – Original Peter (Single, 1970)
Mike Westbrook Concert Band – Can’t Get It Out Of My Mind (Last Night at the Old Place, 1968)
Mike Westbrook Orchestra – Metropolis Part IX (Metropolis, 1971)
Solid Gold Cadillac – The Island (1972)
Mike Westbrook Orchestra – Creole Love Call (Love/Dreams and Variations, 1976)
The Westbrook Blake – A Poison Tree (Single, 1980)
The Mike Westbrook Orchestra – It Starts Here (The Cortege – Live at the BBC, 1980)
Mike Westbrook – Sunday Morning (The Piano in the Room and the Blues, 2026)