The Mike Westbrook Orchestra's 1982 opus The Cortège, initially released as a sprawling three-disc vinyl set by Original Records (re-released on CD by Enja) and winner of that year's Grand Prix du Disque de Montreux, is an often stunning work of massive scope and an indisputable highlight of Westbrook's career. Originally commissioned by the Bracknell Jazz Festival in 1979 and subsequently performed at a number of European festivals, The Cortège is themed around the idea of a New Orleans funeral procession, from its dirges to its final exuberance, but this theme is used as a framework for excursions into territory that is pure Westbrook – namely a marriage of creative jazz orchestra and European poetry written by Federico García Lorca, Arthur Rimbaud, Hermann Hesse, William Blake, and others.
This reissue British artist Mike Cooper's two excellent albums, originally released in 1970 and 1971, respectively; his departure from folk-blues is evident on these two documents. His diversity is one of the most striking traits of his work, considering that Cooper has worked in free improvisation, avant-garde, Hawaiian guitar music, and – much later in the '90s – even drum'n'bass-inflected electronica. As a British folk-blues artist of the '60s, obvious comparisons to Bert Jansch and John Renbourn abound. Like many of his contemporaries of that movement, he progressed to a folk-rock singer/songwriter mode by 1971 and gave listeners Places I Know, which is rooted in the tradition of Tim Buckley, Jackson Browne, and Randy Newman's sophistication with the form.
"Mike" Sanchez is a rhythm and blues singer, pianist and songwriter of Spanish-English heritage. Sanchez is known for his work with the Big Town Playboys and Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings, and for his solo career. He is noted for his charismatic on stage presence and his encyclopaedic knowledge of the history and performers of rhythm and blues. Sanchez left the Big Town Playboys in December 1999 and pursued a solo career, although his debut solo album Just A Game was cut and released in 1997 while still with the Big Town Playboys. In 2001 Sanchez became a member of Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings (replacing pianist Gary Brooker).
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music
Premiata Forneria Marconi (PFM for short) is one of the legendary Italian prog rock bands, they made a sery of beautiful albums in the Seventies.…