After moving to London in 1962,[2] Westbrook led numerous bands, large and small, and played regularly at the Old Place and the Little Theatre Club at Garrick Yard, St Martin's Lane.

[4] He became a key figure in the development of British jazz, producing several big-band records for the Deram label, with the newly formed Mike Westbrook Concert Band, between 1967 and 1969.

[5] 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 British Arts Council awarded Westbrook a bursary to develop 'Metropolis' for an enlarged Concert Band, and the jazz suite was further broadcast on BBC Radio Three on Friday 9 January 1970 at 21.00.

Cosmic Circus,[1] jointly founded with John Fox, who was also a composer, specialised in large scale, one-off high technology shows involving high-divers, tight-rope, carnival processions and more.

[13] In March 1977, the Mike Westbrook Brass Band, avant-rock group Henry Cow and folk singer Frankie Armstrong merged to form the Orckestra.

[16] The Brass Band also recorded Mama Chicago, described as a "Jazz Cabaret", which featured the voices of Phil Minton and Kate Westbrook.

The acoustic brass band perform many jazz standards and an original piece, the Waxeywork Show, with music written by Mike and text by Kate.

More recent projects include Fine 'n Yellow, a piece written in celebration of the lives of Margery and John Styles, two friends who were founders of the Westbrook newsletter, The Smith's Academy Informer.

The piece received its first public performance in a concert that marked Mike Westbrook's 75th birthday at Kings Place in London on 2 April 2011.

[17] In 2012, the trio released Three into Wonderfull, an album digitally re-mastered by Jon Hiseman, presenting a cross-section of the group's recordings over three decades as well as previously unreleased material from the mid-1990s.

Recorded in concert at the Barnfield Theatre (Exeter) by Jon Hiseman and Miles Ashton, it is a reworking of the Waxeywork Show originally performed by The Village Band.