First, you’ve got to love his name; who was he, some character from a Jane Austin novel? No, pianist Forrest Westbrook was not a blue blood of the “North Hampshire Westbrooks,” but a swinger who actually played with the likes of Art Pepper and June Christy, taking part of the West Coast jazz scene. He eventually lived an obscure life, and died a couple of years ago, but he did leave a recording legacy, most notably a hip session with Carmell Jones (also reissued by Fresh Sound Records. But, it is this single disc of a trio and quintet that is gonna make you wonder why he wasn’t better known.
There are 6 songs of this disc; five of them come from a 1958 session with Bill Plummer/b and Maurice Miller from Westbrook’s home studio in Santa Monica. He’s got a creative touch and has some fun with an obscure “Buzzy” by Charlie Parker which has him do some intriguing soloing, while he stretches out in a lyrical yet relaxed form on “I’m Getting Sentimental Over You” and the buoyant “In Your Own Sweet Way.” The team really stretches out with aplomb on a 12 minute canter of Cole Porter’s “I Love You” and gets fun and frisky on a hoot of “Shine On Harvest Moon.”
There’s also a single recording by Westbrook with a team of Dick Hurwitz/tp, Dave Madden/ts, Gary Peacock/b and Bill Schwemmer/dr on a swinging bopper of “Effa” and that’s about it for this guy that you wish you could have gotten to know better. This one’s a joy for piano trio fans; give it a try!
Fresh Sound Records