Django Bates: Saluting Sgt. Pepper

Entering Beatles territory is akin to reaching for the stars. Django Bates, however, is known to be fearless. The British multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger and band leader always brings equal measures of irony and earnestness to his work, living in a constant state of duality otherwise known only in quantum mechanics. And in art – the art of Django Bates.

Marking the 50th anniversary of the release of Sgt. Pepper, the epochal studio album with which the Beatles attained immortality, Bates was commissioned to create a tribute project for and with the Hessian Radio Big Band. This also included the guitarist Stuart Hall and the Scandinavian art-rock trio Eggs Laid by Tigers. The spectacular world premiere took place in 2016 at the 47th German Jazz Festival in Frankfurt. After further guest performances, the All-Stars now come to Cologne. They play all the songs in their original keys and order – same, same but different – and they excel.

​Das Konzert im Radio: Samstag, 28.05.2022, WDR3 Konzert, 20:04