Tony Lakatos, HR Bigband & Jörg Achim Keller - Porgy & Bess (2022)

SKIP RECORDS is celebrating its premiere production with the Frankfurt Radio Bigband ( HR Bigband) by releasing a recording of “Porgy & Bess”, the opera by George Gershwin, in a big-band format. One of the most timeless works of music in recent history has been attired in completely new garb in the form of arrangements by Jörg Achim Keller. In this case, tenor saxophonist Tony Lakatos presents the entire spectrum of his abilities as an equally distinctive and outstanding soloist. Bill Millkowski, a New York authority among music critics and well acquainted with all the Porgy & Bess - recordings of the opera over the past decades, reached an unequivocal and equally noteworthy judgment regarding this project: “This recording of ‘Porgy & Bess’ is a triumph for the team of Lakatos and Keller. With reference to the original material and a vision for a fresh take on things, the gifted saxophonist and accomplished arranger have breathed new life into the quintessentially American work.” The production received the prize of the German Music Critics 2009.