Django Bates | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Leon Bates |
Born | Beckenham, Kent, England | 2 October 1960
Genres | Jazz, jazz fusion |
Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, educator |
Instrument(s) | Piano, keyboards, tenor horn |
Years active | 1980s–present |
Labels | EG, ECM, Lost Marble, Screwgun, JMT |
Website | www |
Django Bates (born Leon Bates, 2 October 1960) [1] is a British jazz musician, composer, multi-instrumentalist, band leader and educator. He plays the piano, keyboards and the tenor horn. Bates has been described as "one of the most talented musicians Britain has produced... his work covers the entire spectrum of jazz, from early jazz through to bebop and free jazz to jazz-rock fusion." [2]
In addition to his jazz work, he is also a classical composer (writing both large- and small-scale compositions on commission), theatre composer, and has taught as a professor at various European music schools. As a leader, his bands have included Human Chain, Delightful Precipice, Quiet Nights, Powder Room Collapse Orchestra and Belovèd, and he was also a leading figure in Loose Tubes and Bill Bruford's Earthworks.
Bates was born in Beckenham, Kent, England, [1] and attended Sedgehill School. While at this school, he also attended the Centre for Young Musicians in London (1971–77), where he learned trumpet, piano, and violin. [1] In 1977–78 he studied at Morley College. [1] In 1978, he enrolled at the Royal College of Music to study composition but left after two weeks. [1] [2]
Bates founded Human Chain in 1979 and, in the 1980s, he rose to prominence in a jazz orchestra called Loose Tubes. [1] In 1991, he started the 19-piece jazz orchestra Delightful Precipice. [3] He also assembled the Powder Room Collapse Orchestra (which recorded Music for The Third Policeman ) [1] [4] and created Circus Umbilicus, a musical circus show. [5] Bates has appeared as a sideman or member of Dudu Pukwana's Zila, [6] Tim Whitehead's Borderline, [7] Ken Stubbs's First House, [8] Bill Bruford's Earthworks, [9] Sidsel Endresen, [1] and in the bands of George Russell [1] and George Gruntz. He has performed with Michael Brecker, Tim Berne, Christian Jarvi, Vince Mendoza, David Sanborn, Kate Rusby, and Don Alias.
Bates has concentrated on writing large-scale compositions on commission. These include:
Bates worked closely with director Lucy Bailey on several theatre projects, including Gobbledegook for the Gogmagogs, Baby Doll, (Birmingham Rep, National Theatre, Albery Theatre), Stairs to the Roof (Chichester Festival Theatre), The Postman Always Rings Twice (West Yorkshire Playhouse, Albery Theatre) and Titus Andronicus (Shakespeare's Globe). They also worked on a short film You Can Run. Other theatre work includes Gregory Doran's production of As You Like It (RSC), and Campbell Graham's Out There!.
He was the inaugural artistic director of the music festival FuseLeeds in 2004. He used this opportunity to initiate the first orchestral commission for Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead. Django also commissioned sixty composers including Laurie Anderson, Gavin Bryars, Patrick Moore, and John Zorn, to write one bar each. He then quilted these bars into the piece "Premature Celebration", which was performed by Evan Parker and the London Sinfonietta to celebrate Parker's 60th birthday.
In 2002, he was a tutor at the Banff Centre jazz program alongside Jim Black and Dave Douglas. [13] In July 2005 he was appointed Professor of Rhythmic Music at the Rhythmic Music Conservatory (RMC) in Copenhagen. [14] He was appointed visiting professor of jazz at the Royal Academy of Music in London in September 2010. [15] In September 2011 Django Bates was appointed Professor of Jazz at HKB Bern Switzerland. [16]
The Wire voted Bates Best UK Jazz Composer in 1987 and 1990.
In 2008, he was nominated for the PRS New Music Award. [18] He was awarded a fellowship by the Leeds College of Music in 1995. [19]
An asterisk (*) indicates that the year is that of release.
Year recorded | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes |
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1986 | Human Chain | With Steve Argüelles (drums, percussion) | |
1987 | Cashin' In | EG | As Human Chain; most tracks trio, with Steve Argüelles (drums), Stuart Hall (strings, piccolo); one track quartet, with Steve Buckley (penny whistle) added |
1990 | Music for The Third Policeman | Ah Um | With Steve Buckley (tin whistle, alto sax, clarinet, bicycle bell), Steve Berry (cello, double bass), Martin France (drums, percussion), Stuart Hall (banjo, violin, guitar, mandolin), Sarah Harrison (violin, hooter), Robert Juritz (bassoon), Dai Pritchard (clarinet, bass clarinet); Eddie Parker (bass flute), Dave Pattman (bongos), Ashley Slater (bass trombone) are added on one or two tracks each. Live performance from 2000 on YouTube: [20] |
1993 | Summer Fruits (and Unrest) | JMT | With Eddie Parker (flute, bass flute), Sarah Homer (clarinet, bass clarinet), Iain Ballamy and Steve Buckley (soprano sax, alto sax), Mark Lockheart and Barak Schmool (tenor sax), Julian Argüelles (baritone sax), Sid Gauld (high trumpet), Chris Batchelor (soloing trumpet), David Laurence (French horn), Roland Bates (trombone), Richard Henry (bass trombone), Sarah Waterhouse (tuba), Steve Watts (acoustic bass), Mike Mondesir (electric bass), Stuart Hall (electric guitar, violin, lap steel, banjo), Martin France (drums), Thebe Lipare (percussion) |
1994 | Autumn Fires (and Green Shoots) | JMT | Solo piano |
1995 | Winter Truce (and Homes Blaze) | JMT | With Eddie Parker (flute, bass flute), Iain Ballamy (soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax), Steve Buckley (soprano sax, alto sax, tin whistle), Mark Lockheart (tenor sax, clarinet), Barak Schmool (tenor sax, piccolo), Julian Argüelles (soprano sax, baritone sax), Sid Gauld and Chris Batchelor (trumpet), David Laurence (French horn), Roland Bates (trombone), Richard Henry (bass trombone), Sarah Waterhouse (tuba), Mike Mondesir (electric bass), Stuart Hall (guitar, violin, banjo), Martin France (drums, percussion), Christine Tobin (vocals) |
1995* | Good Evening...Here Is the News | Decca/Argo | |
1997 | Like Life | Storyville | With the Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra and others |
1998 | Quiet Nights | Screwgun | With Iain Ballamy (sax, harmonica), Josefine Cronholm (vocals, Tibetan bells), Mike Mondesir (bass), Martin France (drums, percussion) |
2003 | You Live and Learn...(Apparently) | Lost Marble | With Iain Ballamy (tenor sax), Chris Batchelor (trumpet), Josefine Lindstrand (bells, vocals), Deirdre Cooper (cello), Nic Pendlebury (viola), Charles Mutter and Ian Humphries (violin), Mike Mondesir (bass, vocals), Martin France (drums, percussion); David Sanborn (alto sax), Jim Mullen (guitar), Laurence Cottle (bass), Barak Schmool (percussion) added on one track each |
2008* | Spring Is Here (Shall We Dance?) | Lost Marble | With 19-piece band |
2008–09 | Beloved Bird | Lost Marble | Trio, with Petter Eldh (bass), Peter Bruun (drums) |
2011 | Confirmation | Lost Marble | Most tracks trio, with Petter Eldh (bass), Peter Bruun (drums); some tracks quartet, with Ashley Slater (vocals) added |
2016 | The Study of Touch | ECM | Trio, with Petter Eldh (bass), Peter Bruun (drums) |
2017 | Saluting Sgt. Pepper | Edition | With the Frankfurt Radio Big Band |
2020 | Tenacity | Lost Marble | Trio, with Petter Eldh (bass), Peter Bruun (drums) |
With Loose Tubes
With Billy Jenkins
With First House
With Bill Bruford's Earthworks
With Iain Ballamy
With Tim Berne's Caos Totale
With Anouar Brahem
With Sidsel Endresen
With Julian Argüelles
With others
Nils Petter Molvær also known as NPM is a Norwegian jazz trumpeter, composer, and record producer. He is considered a pioneer of future jazz, a genre that fuses jazz and electronic music, best showcased on his most commercially successful album, Khmer.
Laurence Cottle is a Welsh bass guitarist and composer.
Harold Winston Beckett was a British trumpeter and flugelhorn player of Barbadian origin.
Loose Tubes were a British jazz big band/orchestra active during the mid-to-late 1980s. Critically and popularly acclaimed, the band was considered to be the focal point of a 1980s renaissance in British jazz. It was the main launchpad for the careers of many future leading British jazz players including Django Bates, Iain Ballamy, Eddie Parker, Julian and Steve Argüelles, Mark Lockheart, Steve Berry, Tim Whitehead, Ashley Slater. In 2015, the band reformed to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the band's formation, with concerts at the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Brecon Jazz Festival and a sold out week at Ronnie Scott's.
Human Chain is a British jazz quartet led by composer and keyboard virtuoso Django Bates. The band has been Bates's main musical outlet since 1990 and has performed on most of his albums.
Iain Ballamy is a British composer and saxophonist. He is considered one of the greatest 25 jazz saxophonists of all time and was featured as one of the world's all-time greats in BBC Music Magazine's "100 Jazz Legends". The Guardian described him as "one of the world's distinctive saxophone voices". One of his closest musical collaborators is Django Bates.
Martin France is one of the top jazz drummers in the UK. He has recorded on over 100 albums and is a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He is sponsored by Paiste cymbals
Bill Bruford's Earthworks were a British jazz band led by drummer Bill Bruford. The band recorded several albums for Editions EG, Discipline Global Mobile and Summerfold Records.
Delightful Precipice is a 19-piece British jazz big band/orchestra led by Django Bates.
Julian Argüelles is an English jazz saxophonist.
Mark Lockheart is a British jazz tenor saxophonist who was a member of the Loose Tubes big band during the 1980s.
Steve Buckley is a British jazz musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist and most often plays alto and soprano saxophones, penny whistle and bass clarinet.
Chris Batchelor is a British jazz trumpeter and composer. He gained his first professional experience with Dudu Pukwana's Zila aged 17, at the suggestion of Harry Beckett. He subsequently became a founder member, composer and soloist with Loose Tubes, contributing many pieces to the repertoire of the band from 1984-1990. He was also very active at this time as a member of legendary world music trailblazers 3 Mustaphas 3, as well as enjoying a varied diet of gigs with Chris McGregor's Brotherhood of Breath, Congolese soukous band Taxi Pata Pata and Ashley Slater's Microgroove.
Earthworks is the first album by Bill Bruford's Earthworks, a jazz fusion band led by drummer Bill Bruford with keyboardist and trumpeter Django Bates, saxophonist Iain Ballamy, and acoustic bassist Mick Hutton. It was released in 1987 on EG Records and reissued on Summerforld in 2005. The album was co-produced by Bruford's former bandmate Dave Stewart.
Sidsel Endresen is a Norwegian singer, composer, and actress. She was part of the Jon Eberson group. Since 1987, Endresen has pursued a successful solo career, recording for ECM.
Eddie Parker is an English jazz flutist and composer. He also plays keyboards during workshops and live performances.
Stamping Ground is an album of 1992 live recordings at various venues by Bill Bruford's Earthworks, released on EG Records in 1994. It was the final Earthworks album to feature Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and Tim Harries. Four years later, Bruford would form a new version of Earthworks in a more traditional acoustic jazz vein.
All Heaven Broke Loose is the third album by Bill Bruford's Earthworks, featuring Django Bates, Iain Ballamy and Tim Harries. It was released on EG Records in 1991. It was co-produced by experimental guitarist David Torn, with whom Bruford had played extensively in the 1980s (and would go on to do again in Bruford Levin Upper Extremities in 1998-2000.
First House was a British jazz quartet that was active between 1983 and 1990. Founded and led by saxophonist and composer Ken Stubbs, the group also consisted of Django Bates on piano, Mick Hutton on acoustic bass and Martin France on drum kit and percussion.
Tim Whitehead is a British jazz musician who plays soprano, alto and tenor saxophone and flute).