Saluting Sgt. Pepper
Studio album by
Django Bates and the
Frankfurt Radio Big Band
Released7 July 2017
RecordedOctober 2016
StudioHorfunkstudio II
Hessischer Rundfunk, Frankfurt
Genre
Length45:17
LabelEdition Records
EDN1094
Producer
Django Bates chronology
The Study of Touch
(2016) 		Saluting Sgt. Pepper
(2017) 		Tenacity
(2020)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Guardian[1]
The Times[2]
All About Jazz[3]
DownBeat[4]

Saluting Sgt. Pepper is an album by the composer, multi-instrumentalist and band leader Django Bates with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band, which was released by Edition Records in 2017.[5] The album was commissioned by the Frankfurt Radio Big Band to mark the 50th anniversary of the release of The Beatles’s Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which is the UK’s best-selling studio album as of 2020. The recording also features the Danish group, Eggs Laid By Tigers[6] and the multi-instrumentalist Stuart Hall.[7] It was performed live at Deutsches Jazzfestival Frankfurt and at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club in 2016.[8]

Reception

In his review for The Guardian, Dave Gelly wrote: "Somebody was bound to give the Beatles’ magnum opus a jazz makeover on its 50th birthday, and I can't think of anyone better than Django Bates to do it. He has just the right mixture of musicality, mischief and sheer cheek to bring it off".[1]

In The Times, John Bungey stated that "Bates keeps closely to the melodic outline of Pepper’s 13 tracks, but tinkers energetically with textures and sometimes tempo in his arrangements for the Frankfurt Big Band. From the clever dropped beats of the opener, it’s as if the Lonely Hearts Club Band has evolved into a crack ensemble tutored on old Loose Tubes albums".[2]

In his review for All About Jazz, Roger Farbey made special mention of Eggs Laid By Tigers vocalist Martin Dahl, who was "charged with the unenviable task of singing all the lead vocal parts". He also highlighted that "multi-instrumentalist Stuart Hall, and a long-time associate of Bates, made vital contributions to the album".[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Lennon–McCartney, except "Within You Without You" by George Harrison.

  1. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" – 1:56
  2. "With a Little Help from My Friends" – 2:47
  3. "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" – 3:48
  4. "Getting Better" – 3:59
  5. "Fixing a Hole" – 3:20
  6. "She's Leaving Home" – 3:39
  7. "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" – 2:33
  8. "Within You Without You" – 5:46
  9. "When I'm Sixty-Four" – 2:51
  10. "Lovely Rita" – 2:59
  11. "Good Morning Good Morning" – 2:48
  12. "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)" – 2:16
  13. "A Day in the Life" – 6:35

Personnel

Eggs Laid By Tigers

Frankfurt Radio Big Band

References

  1. ^ a b Gelly, Dave (9 July 2017). "Django Bates: Saluting Sgt Pepper review – beautifully wonky jazz makeover". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b Bungey, John (14 July 2017). "Jazz review: Django Bates and the Frankfurt Big Band: Saluting Sgt Pepper". The Times. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  3. ^ a b Farbey, Roger (23 June 2017). "Django Bates: Saluting Sgt. Pepper". All About Jazz. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  4. ^ Woodward, Josef (September 2017). "Django Bates: Saluting Sgt. Pepper". DownBeat. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  5. ^ Allmusic: Django Bates: Saluting Sgt Pepper accessed 19 March 2022
  6. ^ "Eggs Laid By Tigers". Discogs. September 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Stuart Hall". Discogs. September 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  8. ^ "A Day in the Life - Django Bates and hr-Bigband celebrate "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"". YouTube. March 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
Categories