Tutto pronto - e nessun posto più disponibile, pare - per i due concerti domani e dopodomani di Mike Westbrook con la Uncommon Orchestra al Ronnie's Club londinese. Dopo ripetuti rinvii nell'arco di due anni a causa del Covid, sarà questa la prima volta che On Duke's Birthday viene presentato a Londra nella sua forma orchestrale integrale. Oh to be there!
Mike Westbrook and The Uncommon Orchestra return to the club with one of Mike’s best known and most loved works, On Duke’s Birthday, dedicated to the memory of Duke Ellington. This is the first time that the full-scale version of the piece will be performed in London.
Compositions for Jazz Orchestra have been a thread running through Mike Westbrook’s career since the 1960s. Regarded as Classics, works like Marching Song, Metropolis, Citadel/ Room 315 and The Cortège were widely performed at festivals throughout Europe and the UK. His Big Band Rossini was the first jazz work ever to be performed in the BBC Proms. A three-day festival in Catania, Sicily in 1992 devoted to Mike’s work for the Orchestra, is commemorated in his recent album Catania.
The Uncommon Orchestra is a West Country-based big band formed ten years ago. The band is now established internationally through its performances, including Ronnie Scotts in 2019, a triumphant tour in Italy and the release of two highly acclaimed albums, A Bigger Show and In Memory of Lou Gare.