For most  jazz careers of magnitude relocating from The Smoke to Devon would be game ver. But what does Mike Westbrook do?  Upon arriving in Dawlish he trawls the local music scene and hooks himself up with one of the most creatively hardcore bands of his career. And then, at the end of 2006, the Westbrook Village Band return to the metropolis, their country ways showing us city bumpkins way to go as they score a major hit at that year’s London Jazz Festival.

The Westbrooks have never been ones for the jazz business. It’s fair to say that the pernicious influence of Parky Jazz (good news – the bore of Barnsley has quit!) hasn’t done them any favours, and against that background The Waxeywork Show is a triumphant record that demonstrates staunch commitment to fundamentals – finding new expressive possibilities from within  the depth of jazz tradition and risk-taking with a purpose.

The tradition is lovingly embraced in a sequence of jazz waybacks. Jelly Roll Morton’s “Dead Man Blues” and Mingus’s “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” make an imposing pairing, unexpectedly so perhaps until you consider how important Jelly Roll was to Mingus. “Monk’s Mood” rendered for brass is heart-stoppingly tasty, while “Lil’ Darlin’” shows Mike’s respect for the conceptual perfection of Neal Hefti’s original Basie chart. He then drops a googly – just how often do you hear Tadd Dameron’s “If You Could See Me Now” covered?

For musicians who hadn’t had any professional exposure, the consistently high level of the instrumental playing is revelatory. Stan Willis’s alto is steeped in Johnny Hodges and Mike Brewer is a powerful lead trumpeter; his fulsome high notes behind Kate Westbrook on Bessie Smith’s “Shipwreck Blues” are pitched with unerring accuracy both to the note and to spirit. But this being a Westbrook record, the musicians are also challenged with a tricky new thirty minute composition, “The Waxeywork Show”. Kate’s scenario explores parallels between 19th Century freak shows and the internet: “both have the power to corrupt through fascination,” she asserts. The piece climaxes with a nightmarish montage, like competing layers of musical activity are downloading simultaneously. The musicians have to pass through intricate bi-tonal harmonies and punchy grooves to get there; them Westbrooks remain plugged into the zeitgeist, creating bold music that’s fizzy with contemporary relevance.
Philip Clark - Jazz Review Feb/March 08 - Editor's Choice

A fine Westbrook entertainment, this. A short-ish cabaret piece, plus Mike's moody 'April 29th' coupled with several beautifully arranged standards - 'Good-bye Pork Pie Hat', 'Dead Man's Blues' and 'Monk's Mood' among them. One of Westy's great skills is his ability to create wonderful shapes and colours from limited resources. He simply relishes the challenge. The five section Waxeywork Show draws some fabulous playing from this group of west country musicians with Stan Willis particularly fine on alto. The music and Kate's lyrics gel perfectly to create a Dr. Calgari cum Todd Browning world of dark juxtapositions, where a carny of waxwork freaks dance. Kate must be the only person to ever put Jack the Ripper, Buzz Aldrin, Boadicea and David Beckham in one rhyming couplet. It's quite marvellous but no more so that Mike's affectionate arrangements of Jelly Roll Morton, Mingus, Monk and Bessie Smith ('Shipwreck Blues'). However, the band's takes on Tadd Dameron's evergreen 'If You Could See Me Now' and Neal Hefti's 'Lil Darlin' are the record's nostalgic triumphs. Music for then and now.
Duncan Heining - Jazzwise Dec 07 / Jan 08