Saluting Sgt. Pepper
A fine and inquisitive multi-instrumentalist, Django Bates has just the large-canvas arranging sensibility to tackle the 1967 landmark in this loving tribute to his fellow Britons. Playing mostly keyboard, Bates and guitarist Stuart Hall join the impressive trio Eggs Laid By Tigers, which provides the lead vocals and rhythm section. The Frankfurt Radio Big Band, with its formidable brass and reed sections, handles Bates’ difficult but strikingly faithful charts with polish and rhythmic inspiration.
The unruly composer and the Frankfurt Radio Big Band began tentatively but soon let fly on an exhilarating reimagining of the Fab Four’s album
Jazz version of Beatles' anniversary hit offers glimpses of the sublime. CD New Music review by Matthew Wright