Mike Westbrook’s Duke Ellington tribute offers kaleidoscopic jazz

The inspiration for Mike Westbrook’s Ellington-themed On Duke’s Birthday was a 1983 working visit to New York that coincided with Ellington’s birthday. “There was nonstop Ellington, everywhere,” explained the English composer/bandleader to this sold-out show at Ronnie Scott’s. “It gave a sense of how wonderful the world could be.”

Westbrook recorded the work in France a year later — five of that 10-piece band featured tonight — but this gig was the first time the score had been delivered on an orchestral scale. Now breaths of alto sax launched a cacophony of clarinets and orchestral might yielded to whispered scampers of quietly plucked strings.

The evening opened with a slow burn of stinging Jesse Molins guitar peaking with dense harmonies from the band’s 14-piece brass. “Checking In” is the work’s warm-up piece, but by the time it ended, a kaleidoscope of textures had supported solo violin, and dynamics had stretched to extremes.

“On Duke’s Birthday 1” came next, an epic making full use of the orchestra’s range and solo strength. The piece began with chamber modernism from cello and violin, before the blares and stabs of brass orthodoxy merged with unexpected juxtapositions and the surreal, Kate Westbrook a showstopper on bamboo flute.

“East Stratford Too-Doo” came next, with its catchy phrase passed from bass to band. The piece lasted 30-odd minutes and included a highlight concoction of moans, shouts and vocalese from vocalist Phil Minton before ending with a surge of samba and a dead stop.

Although the evening’s rich brass textures and snazzy riffs have Ellingtonian roots, these are only elements in Westbrook’s score. The Uncommon Orchestra’s range of influences is wide, and two electric guitars, cello and violin, bring classical music and rock into their sonic range.

That said, Westbrook, like Ellington, relishes texture and scores with particular musicians in mind: plucked electric guitars, a warble of two clarinets and a sigh of trombone for Dominique Pifarély’s effervescent violin, sheens of brass and a modal blues pulse for Alan Wakeman’s tenor sax; Chris Biscoe held the stage alone, whether on bass clarinet or alto sax.

The second half began with a new piece, “Says the Duke”. Lyrics stringing together Ellingtonian references were delivered by Kate Westbrook in Weimar cabaret style. A fast waltz followed, but that was just the start, and then the trippy theme of “Music Is”, titled after a quote from the Duke. Here it was launched by Frank Schaefer’s cello and gently expanded through the band.

The encore, “Tulip or Turnip”, a pyrotechnic romp of big-band be-bop with surreal lyrics, found the ensemble roaring into gear with discipline and panache.

★★★★☆

Mike Westbrook’s ‘On Duke’s Birthday’ plays the Cheltenham Jazz Festival on May 1, cheltenhamfestivals.com