The Orckestra

The Orckestra

Company type	Ensemble
Industry	Music
Founded	March 1977 (1977-03)
Founder	Henry Cow, Mike Westbrook Brass Band, Frankie Armstrong
Defunct	May 24, 1978 (1978-05-24)
Headquarters	London , England
Area served	Europe
Key people	Fred Frith, Tim Hodgkinson, Chris Cutler, Lindsay Cooper, Dagmar Krause, Georgie Born, Mike Westbrook, Kate Westbrook, Dave Chambers, Paul Rutherford, Phil Minton, Frankie Armstrong
Products	Avant-garde jazz and avant-rock performances

The Orckestra was an English ensemble consisting of twelve members, blending avant-garde jazz and avant-rock styles. Established in March 1977, it emerged from the fusion of the avant-rock band Henry Cow, the Mike Westbrook Brass Band, and folk vocalist Frankie Armstrong. Their performances included two London appearances in 1977 and a European tour spanning from September 1977 to May 1978, with concerts held in countries such as Italy, France, and Sweden.

History

Prior to their union, Henry Cow and the Mike Westbrook Brass Band had several collaborative moments. In 1973, Westbrook appeared as a guest during Henry Cow's London show alongside Faust, where the Brass Band performed in the foyer before the main event. At the 1975 Sigma Festival in Bordeaux, both groups played separately but joined forces for a New Orleans-style funeral march finale. Later, in October 1976, Henry Cow, the Brass Band, and Armstrong shared the stage at Goldsmith College in London.

The official formation took place on 13 March 1977 during the Moving Left Revue at The Roundhouse in London. They initially performed under the lengthy name "Henry Cow/Mike Westbrook Occasional Orchestra and Big Band, Featuring Frankie Armstrong," which was eventually shortened to "The Orckestra." This concert served as a benefit for the Communist Party and was partly organized by Paul Rutherford of the Brass Band. Critics acclaimed the event as a major success and regarded the collaboration as Henry Cow's most thrilling venture. Drummer Chris Cutler remarked that their shared political ideals made working together feel natural.

On 26 June 1977, The Orckestra appeared at London's Open Air Theatre located in Regent's Park. Ronald Atkins of The Guardian praised their diverse musical range, noting it was unparalleled by other ensembles. Between September 1977 and May 1978, they embarked on an extensive European tour, performing in cities including Milan, Modena, Nancy, Paris, Stockholm, Norrköping, Gothenburg, Oslo, Longlaville, Loos-en-Gohelle, Poitiers, Orléans, and Bordeaux.

Despite enthusiasm from Henry Cow members about the collaboration, difficulties arose. The Brass Band found it challenging to adapt to Henry Cow's irregular time signatures; Westbrook explained that jazz’s dance-based rhythms offered a steady pulse that was missing from Henry Cow’s approach. As a result, most concerts predominantly featured Brass Band compositions alongside selected pieces from Henry Cow's repertoire. Atkins noted that performances often resembled an expanded Westbrook band supported by a rhythm section. Due to limited rehearsal opportunities, full integration or creation of new works was not feasible; however, arrangements were occasionally co-developed by Henry Cow and Rutherford.

Their last performance took place on 24 May 1978 in Bordeaux. Following the dissolution of The Orckestra, Georgie Born and Lindsay Cooper from Henry Cow maintained collaborative efforts with Westbrook for several years afterward.

Music

The Orckestra did not introduce original compositions but mainly presented works previously performed individually by the Mike Westbrook Brass Band, Henry Cow, and Frankie Armstrong. Their initial setlist at The Roundhouse included:

• "Wheel of Fortune"
• "Beautiful as the Moon..."
• "Django"
• "God Bless the Child"
• "Naima"
• "Mourn not the Dead"
• "Anthem"
• "Jackie-ing"
• "On Suicide"
• "Lady Howard's Coach"
• "Kanonensong"
• "Santiago, You are Suffering"
• "Let the Slave"
• "Serpent Maigre"
• "Bartlemy Fair"
• "The Saucy Sailor"
• "Little Duke Arthur's Nurse"
• "Sovay, Sovay"
• "Jack the Lad"
• "Holy Thursday"
• "I See Thy Form"
• "Alabama Song"

Subsequently, Henry Cow incorporated some pieces from the Brass Band into their own performances, notably "Jackie-ing," which appears on Volume 9: Late within The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set (2009).

Recordings

During their period of activity, Orckestra did not issue any official recordings. Although a live album from their concert in Paris on 20 November 1977 was intended for release, it was ultimately scrapped because of unsatisfactory recording quality and problems with premixing. In 2003, an unauthorized bootleg of this performance surfaced, but its audio fidelity is generally regarded as substandard.

The ensemble’s first authorized release came out in 2006 as a 12-minute 3" CD single titled Unreleased Orckestra Extract, distributed exclusively to subscribers of the Henry Cow Box. This release includes an untitled composition by Fred Frith alongside "Would You Prefer Us to Lie?" composed by Chris Cutler and John Greaves, both recorded during live shows across Europe in early 1978. These tracks were later reissued on the bonus CD Ex Box – Collected Fragments 1971–1978, available to those who subscribed to The Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow in 2019.

Members

• Henry Cow
  • Fred Frith – guitar
  • Tim Hodgkinson – organ, alto saxophone, clarinet
  • Chris Cutler – drums
  • Lindsay Cooper – bassoon, flute, oboe
  • Dagmar Krause – vocals
  • Georgie Born – bass guitar, cello
• Mike Westbrook Brass Band
  • Mike Westbrook – piano, euphonium
  • Kate Westbrook – piccolo, tenor horn
  • Dave Chambers – soprano and tenor saxophone
  • Paul Rutherford – trombone, euphonium
  • Phil Minton – vocals, trumpet
• Frankie Armstrong – vocals

Singles

• Unreleased Orckestra Extract (3" CD single, 2006, Recommended Records, UK) – exclusive bonus CD included with subscriptions to the Henry Cow Box (2006).

Bootlegs

• Live in Paris, November 20, 1977 (2xCD, 2003, Hickory, Japan)