So, I saw the most televised Band in Germany last night. No, this wasn’t the Lanxess Arena in Cologne or even The Harmonie in Bonn. The venue was Ortszentrum Düsseldorf, the Band was Heavytones, and the Dottendorfer Jazznacht hall was packed out.

I’ve mentioned the growing reputation of Dottendorf’s ‘Jazznacht’ in the past, but this was a coup even for them. It’s very possible you don’t recognize the band’s name, but also very unlikey that you haven’t seen them live before. The Heavytones were formed in 2001 as resident musicians for ‘TV Total’, Germany’s equivalent of the American ‘Late Show’. In the ensuing 25 years, they’ve possibly chalked up more television time than any other group of musicians in Germany:  (Deutschland Sucht Den Superstar (DSDS), TV Total, all levels of Eurovision Song Contest competition, all manner too of programmes featuring star moderator Stefan Raab (‘Schlag den Raab’ etc).   In addition, these guys have provided the music on television and stage for stars including Adele, Joe Cocker, Lionel Richie, James Brown, Kylie Minogue, Bootsy Collins and Michael Büble.

There is then an excusably ‘Big Show’ feeling when I arrive in Dottendorf. My first experience here even of ‘FOH (Front Of House) wristbands and there’s a small barrier to make the division official. It’s taken quite a few people by surprise. There are numerous groups of ticketholders who collected their bands and, heading to the bar barely ten minutes before showtime, discover that, well, “Five seats in a row – together?”… At this rate Dottendorf will need to start numbering the chairs!

Anyway, come 8 pm additional chairs having been rounded up, the lights go down on a sold-out concert that is about to live up to the high expectancy. I’ve always had great respect for resident showbands. These are musicians who are expected to handle any and all types of music thrown at them by musicians and producers at short notice. Jazz, Rock, Pop, Country, local hero, Interenational Superstar, they have to absorb it all and deliver faultless performances that say “We’ve literally got your back!” to one and all.

Maybe that explains the sheer explosive power of the Heavytones when they start playing. Each band member is taking cues from everyone else, everyone takes their turn, everyone pulls together on every single note. I lost count of the times I saw Thorsten Skringer (sax), Lorenzo Ludemann (trumpet) and Tim Hepburn (trombone) all joining in to play just one or two notes together. It’s this that seperates a good band from a great one like The Heavytones. ‘Pah!, Pah!, Pah!‘ rattled off together in quick unison.

With all their past experience as a backing band there are of course a few staple favourite cover tunes to be played. An early favourite being the band’s mix of Michael Jackson’s ‘Don’t Stop’ and ‘Thriller’. I’ve never heard of ‘The Dirty Loops’ before but Heavytones are big fans of the Swedish prog-jazz/rockers and ‘Rock You’ and a fast and funky ‘Coffee Break is Over’ suggest we should all check out Dirty Loops. James Brown’s ‘Get on the Good Foot’ is particularly appropriate as Brown is mentioned as one of the favourite performers they’ve worked with (alongside Lionel Richie).

There are also a number of compositions self-penned by the band: guitarist Daniel Stelter’s ‘Comics’ was a chance to hear some funky jazz guitar. Sax player Thorsten Skringer also got deserved applause for his melodic composition ‘Reveal’ and also for his solo therein. It’s a measure of the band’s breadth of ‘know-How’ that they seem to even write great music with ease.

Everyone had their own individual chance to shine during the evening and every one was a winner. Not surprising really – did I mention that Lorenzo Lüdemann stepped into the trumpet-playing shoes of Rüdiger Balauf in 2017 and showed this evening that he too could easily front his own band. For much of the first concert half I was thinking that drummer Moritz Müller was pulling off some amazing effects alone, until I caught sight of a man with headphones and smile standing behind Thorsten Skringer. The smiling man in question turned out to be Alfonso Garrido and also turned out to be another ‘A’ class musician with a jaw-dropping percussion solo. He also delivered a super sing-along for Phil Collins in appreciation of the Genesis legend who has recently suffered increasing ill-health. A measure of Collins’ influence was the inclusion of ‘Hand in Hand’ in the set-ist and was also a reminder that a good many drummer/percussionists out there have been inspired by the man from Chiswick.

Just when you think the band has finally reached down to the very bottom of its deep well of talent the bucket digs still deeper – Jan Büttner steps onto the stage. Jan is the Heavytones’ backliner. This was once a posh term for someone responsible for equipment set-up and more generally labelled ‘roadie’ by the band. In modern parlance though the term has come to describe an all-rounder including very often photo/videographer. In the case of Heavytones it also refers to occasional vocalist. He delivers a very agreeable version of ‘Every Breath You Take’ early in the set and later returns after the band have encored with Candy Dulfer’s ‘2025’ to close the evening with Max Mutzke’s ‘Can’t Wait until Tonight’. If the song sounded familiar then it’s because Mutzke represented Germany with it at the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest – with backing from – members of The Heavytones, naturally…

For the Dottendorfer Jazznacht then the evening was quite a coup. But then I think I’ve said that before the past appearances of Omar Klein, Thorsten Goods and Silje Nergaard. The truth is that this little venue has become a top meeting place for lovers of high quality Jazz music. The words ‘Sold Out’ are likely to become more frequent – so my advice is to book early and don’t take your seat five minutes before showtime!