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As a two-part work that taken together was an instrumental commentary on the origination and folly of war, Mike Westbrook's albums of "marching songs" are considered both a high point in his career and a high point in progressive British jazz of the late '60s in general. This CD reissue sensibly combines both LPs (originally issued separately, and simultaneously, as Marching Song, Vol. 1 and Marching Song, Vol. 2) into one package. Retrospective criticism has perhaps over-emphasized the more tumultuous aspects of these recordings and their relationship to the tense violent times in an era when the Vietnam War was still raging. Certainly some of these pieces and passages do fall into the angry avant-garde jazz category, and titles like "Conflict," with an especially frenetic clamor of a large ensemble, make it clear that war can be hell.

Yet other parts of the work are rather exuberant and not all that inaccessible, even if the sendoff parade cheer of Vol. 1's opener, "Hooray!," seems deliberately ironic in this context. It's quite a varied set, at times approaching somewhat commercial bebop ("Home") and meditative lyricism, while "Tension" could almost be the soundtrack of a hip cinematic thriller. There's no shortage of quite out-there sections, however, with the several-dozen-strong cast of players -- including such standout names as Kenny Wheeler on trumpet and flügelhorn, Barre Philips on bass, and John Marshall on drums -- guaranteeing depth and richness to the arrangements. If it's consciously studied as a concept work, it's not so much an antiwar protest (although that sentiment's certainly implied by some of it) as a reflection of war's many moods and stages, from gung-ho patriotism to between-battle ennui and post-conflict exhaustion.

Michael John David 'Mike' Westbrook (born 21 March 1936 in High Wycombe) is an English jazz pianist, composer, and writer of orchestrated jazz pieces.

Mike Westbrook grew up in Torquay. After a spell in Accountancy and the National Service[1] (some of it posted to Germany) he went to art school, studying painting, in Plymouth where he also began his first bands in 1958, soon joined by such musicians as John Surman, Lou Gare and Keith Rowe.

After moving to London in 1962 Westbrook led numerous bands, large and small, and played regularly at the Old Place and the Little Theatre Club. Together with Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath) Westbrook shared the role of House Band at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club.

He became a key figure in the development of British Jazz, producing several big band records with the newly formed Mike Westbrook Concert Band between 1967 and 1969 for the Deram label, featuring such musicians as Surman, Mike Osborne and Harry Miller. The band varied in size from 10 to 26 musicians. In 1968 his band made their international debut at the Montreux Festival with Malcolm Griffiths, Alan Jackson, Harry Miller, Mike Osborne and John Surman

The 1970s saw a wide range of different projects.

Cosmic Circus, jointly founded with John Fox specialized in large scale, one-off high technology shows involving high-divers, tight-rope, carnival processions and more. It was part of Earthrise Tour in the UK (May 1970 to October 1971). This included also singer/vocalist Norma Winstone who performed on several of the band's albums at the time.

Adrian Mitchell drew Mike Westbrook in for his musical "Tyger" on the life of William Blake for the Royal National Theatre. This would become a major influence on Mike Westbrook's work (see paragraph on later work below).

In 1972/73 he also worked in the context of his jazz-rock band Solid Gold Cadillac. The most consequential effect of this was the participation of Phil Minton. His unmistakable voice would feature in many of Westbrook's later projects. A live performance of Solid Gold Cadillac (at the Paris Theatre in London) has been repeatedly broadcast by BBC Radio 6 between 2002 and 2007.

In March 1977 the Mike Westbrook Brass Band, avant-rock group Henry Cow and folk singer Frankie Armstrong merged to form The Orckestra. The ensemble performed in London and several cities in Europe, their last concert being in Bordeaux, France in May 1978.

Bass - Barre Phillips , Chris Laurence , Harry Miller
Clarinet - Mike Osborne
Drums - Alan Jackson , John Marshall
Engineer [Recording] - Bill Price
Executive Producer - Bernard Lee
Flugelhorn - Dave Holdsworth , Kenny Wheeler
Flute - Alan Skidmore , Bernie Living , John Warren (2)
French Horn - Tom Bennelick
Piano, Directed By [Musical Director] - Mike Westbrook
Piccolo Flute - Bernie Living
Producer - Peter Eden
Saxophone [Alto] - Bernie Living , John Warren (2) , Mike Osborne
Saxophone [Baritone] - John Warren (2)
Saxophone [Baritone], Directed By [Musical Director] - John Surman
Saxophone [Soprano] - John Surman
Saxophone [Tenor] - Alan Skidmore , Brian Smith , Nisar Ahmed Khan
Trombone - Malcolm Griffiths , Michael Gibbs , Paul Rutherford (2)
Trombone, Directed By [Musical Director] - Eddie Harvey
Trumpet - Dave Holdsworth , Greg Bowen , Henry Lowther , Kenny Wheeler , Ronnie Hughes , Tony Fisher (2)
Tuba - George Smith , Martin Fry (2)

01. Transition
02. Home
03. Rosie
04. Prelude
05. Tension
06. Ballad
07. Conflict
08. Requiem
09. Tarnished
10. Memorial