https://www.westbrookjazz.co.uk/mikewestbrook/mike-tribute.shtml
30 maggio 2026
29 maggio 2026
Chris Topley pubblica un breve video nella sezione Moving Picture Show del sito web che da sempre cura amorevolmente per Mike e Kate Westbrook, WestbrookJazz. E' la prima delle due variazioni di Empress Blues presenti nell'album The Piano In The Room And The Blues (AlAy, 2026), ispirate al brano di Bessie Smith Good Old Wagon. Il cd, nonostante alcuni intoppi dell'ultimo momento, ha visto la luce in tempo per il novantesimo compleanno di Mike, lo scorso 21 marzo, rendendolo sinceramente felice. Racconta l'episodio per esteso Werner X. Uehlinger, storico sostenitore di Mike in Hat Hut Records e curatore anche di quest'ultima pubblicazione, che da motivo di festeggiamento si è trasformata in involontario ma affettuosissimo commiato: "Mike Westbrook contacted me in April/May 2025, when I was still Hat Hut Records owner and recommended that I issue his piano blues solo recording. After listening to the music, I agreed. At the end of May, I sold the name of Hat Hut Records and its contents of ezz-thetics productions. The recordings then passed to the new owners of Hat Hut Records, who had no interest in releasing them. Since I had promised Mike Westbrook a CD release, I began working on the release despite a non-complete agreement. The contact with Mike was very intense in the following weeks to achieve his wish that the CD be released before his 90th birthday in March 2026. I succeeded. He received the CD after mid-February 2026. Mike was very happy and very grateful. Mike’s eMail on February 23, 2026: "The CDs have arrived! Now the music is able to speak for itself. Thanks for your support and commitment in making it happen." Unfortunately, his illness caught up with him and led to his recent death on April 11, 2026. The Piano In The Room And The Blues has now become a memorial edition."
28 maggio 2026
E Julie Tippetts è presente anche nell'album Back to the Garden allegato al numero di giugno 2026 della rivista Mojo interamente dedicato a cover di brani di Joni Mitchell: assieme ai Working Week interpreta Overture-Cotton Avenue (da Don Juan's Reckless Daughter) nella stessa versione uscita su Instant Replay (Lush, 2020).