Artist: Kate Westbrook

Date of Release:

Catalogue no: 681

Label: Voiceprint

Price: £13

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Track Listing

Appearances by

Alan Barnes, Chris Biscoe, Mike Westbrook, Peter King

1 Even/Uneven. in which the Skirmishers arrive
Music by Lindsay Cooper
Kate Westbrook Voice; John Winfield voice; Stuart Brooks trumpet;
Chris Biscoe alto sax; Andy Grappy tuba; Laka Daisical piano;
Sebastian Rochford drums.

2 The Riddle. a contrary love song
music by Jenni Roditi
John Winfield voice; Tim Holmes soprano sax; Peter Whyman alto sax;
John Alley piano; Andy Grappy tuba.
Conducted by Jenni Roditi.

3 The Devil and The Canny Lad. a parable
music James McMillan
arranged Dudley Phillips
John Winfield voice; Kate Westbrook voice; Dudley Phillips electric bass;
Nic France drums; Barbara Thompson soprano sax; Billy Thompson violin.

4 My Lazy Goodheart. a parlour ballad
music Errolyn Wallen
Errolyn Wallen piano; Kate Westbrook voice.

5 Toad's Washerwoman. song for a be-bop diva
music Mike Westbrook
John Winfield voice; Kate Westbrook voice; Peter King alto sax;
Alan Barnes alto sax; Mike Carr Hammond organ; Steve Brown drums
Directed by Mike Westbrook.

6 Joseph F. Glidden of De Kalb, Illinois. in which the estimable J.F.G. recounts the sensational history of that most efficacious commodity ... Barbed Wire
music Chris Biscoe
Kate Westbrook voice; John Winfield voice Peter Whyman soprano sax;
Chris Biscoe alto sax; Andy Grappy tuba; Laka Daisical keyboard;
Sebastian Rochford drums.

7 One Cezanne Apple. a song of death
music Eleanor Alberga
Kate Westbrook voice; John Winfield voice; Tim Holmes soprano sax, Eb clarinet;
Peter Whyman alto sax; John Alley piano; Neil Percy percussion.
conducted by Eleanor Alberga

8 Oceans, Straits, Currents and Seas. a boastful rock-rap
music Barbara Thompson
Kate Westbrook voice; John Winfield voice; Barbara Thompson soprano sax;
Billy Thompson violin; Andy Grappy tuba; Peter Lemer synth bass;
Jon Hiseman drums.

9 Cuff Clout. the Skirmishers depart
music Lindsay Cooper
Kate Westbrook Voice; John Winfield voice; Stuart Brooks trumpet;
Chris Biscoe alto sax; Andy Grappy tuba; Laka Daisical piano;
Sebastian Rochford drums.
Recording directed, engineered and mixed by Jon Hiseman
Concept and production Kate Westbrook
Co-producer John Winfield
Music Co-ordinator Mike Westbrook
recording funded by Airshaft Trust
Cuff Clout was recorded at Temple Music Studios, Sutton, November 2001.

Music originally commissioned by Kate Westbrook in 1994 with funds from the Arts Council of England.

Reviews

01/06/2005 Antonia Couling - The Singer

"With contributions from the likes of Jenni Roditi, Mike Westbrook and Errollyn Wallen, among others, interest for the listener is guaranteed. Kate Westbrook is the contributor of the lyrics, which she has crafted with skill and performs with aplomb. The combination of her Lenya-like voice with that of of John Winfield's clear jazz tenor works exceptionally well. The album has been stunningly produced and engineered."

01/10/2004 Frank-John Hadley - Downbeat

DOWNBEAT RATING: 4 STARS

"British vocalist Kate Westbrook has a gift for music theater. Updating early 20th-century English music hall on Cuff Clout, Westbrook sets her witty and eccentric texts to bold and fascinating genre-crossing music composed by eight collaborators, including her bandleader husband Mike Westbrook and other Anglo jazz worthies Chris Biscoe, Lindsay Cooper and Barbara Thompson. Maintaining a wicked edginess in her rich, limber voice, she skewers the memory of the millionaire inventor of barbed wire on "Glidden" and plumbs a gloomy, stately mood on the striking piano-and-voice ballad "My Lazy Goodheart," where her emotional timbre suggests blood ties to Marianne Faithfull. John Winfield is one hell of a lead singer, too, playing the part of a jailbird's confederate to the hilt in "Toad's Washerwoman" and wrenching cryptic meaning out of the words to "The Riddle."

Together, Westbrook and Winfield embark on a cosmic journey singing the terrifically daft "Oceans, Straits, Currents & Seas"-think Edward Lear, Lewis Carroll, Lord Byron and private eye John Shaft sharing a pickle jar full of LSD. Kate's Skirmishers band performs with a deft touch, whether sounding like an old strip joint combo on "Toad's Washerwoman" or enshrouding "One Cezanne Apple" with a Third Stream funereal air. Getting comfortable with Westbrook's "neoteric music hall" may take some work but it's worth it."

02/08/2004 Duncan Heining, Jazzwise

"...this record is a triumph for Kate's multiple talents."

01/07/2004 Jazz at Ronnie Scott's

"Intensely moving, witty, charming and touching by turns, the album provides a perfect vehicle for the dramtic vocal skill of both Kate Westbrook and her singing partner John Winfield and shines an intriguing new light on a neglected but distinctive area of English culture."

01/01/2004 Dave Gelly. The Observer.

"How do you find a pigeonhole big enough to accommodate a piece of work like this? It describes itself as a 'neoteric music hall', or newfangled variety show. The nine pieces, words by Kate Westbrook and music by such contemporary composers as Errollyn Wallen, Barbara Thompson and James McMillan, are, by turns, funny, exhilarating, weird and vaguely disturbing. The 20 musicians involved come largely from the jazz world, some of them very distinguished names indeed, such as Peter King, Alan Barnes, Mike Carr and Steve Brown. The vocal performers are Kate Westbrook herself and John Winfield. It is all hugely entertaining, not least because you never know what's coming next, although you can be sure it will be expertly done."