Review Centre: Function Bands

"Saw this band at a works party and they were absolutely brilliant. Had everyone up dancing. Singer made a fuss of us all - really made our night!"

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"Emma’s powerful and excellent voice bringing the whole effect into some really class material… I called her a vocalist but wow she is a singer! As far as I and many others would agree 10 out of 10 ain’t enough."

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"A complimentary glass of bubbly is always a good sign as you step through the door. Or, in this case, as you step aboard. We were on the elegant Millennium Diamond, a handsome modern catamaran leaving from Westminster Pier for a jazz cruise of the Thames. Jazz and dinner. And bubbly. With Big Ben glowing in the mellow late evening light, we cast off (I think that’s the term). We were presented with a small safety lecture and a large plate of tapas. As we glided by the London Eye and under bridges, the boat’s resident jazz band began to play. They are Chi Jazz: Noel Jay on electric keyboards, Matt Tween on bass, Steve Grainger a disciple of Johnny Hodges with a penchant for sneaking cheeky little quotations from The Pink Panther into his solos on alto sax and John Clarke on drums. Debbie Cobbett was guest vocalist. And this is a crack quartet, as was made clear by their opening number A Foggy Day (In London Town) — a great tune, though you could hardly have chosen a less foggy day than this scorching, gorgeous summer occasion with sunlight striking through the panoramic windows. Grainger’s alto was in the lead, offering sweetly swaying, reverberant cadences. The stately skyline of London surged grandly past as the combo commenced I’ve Got You Under My Skin with Debbie Cobbett joining in on warm, mellow vocals. As Grainger’s sax played debonair, descending phrases with the setting sun glinted on the river waves and the Shard rearing gleaming against the sky it became clear we were in for a tremendously pleasant experience. Red double-decker buses rolled across Cannon Street Bridge and HMS Belfast hove into view as the band began A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square, reinforcing their excellent choice of songs. Noel Jay provided a delicate drapery of keyboards and Grainger went down a spiral bebop staircase on his alto. Matt Tween’s warm bass rolled like the waves as Jay embarked on a discursive, detailed solo. Steve Grainger’s playing on Moon River was reflective and rhapsodic, coming at the tune from all angles with an echoing complexity of commentary. Noel Jay’s ringing keyboard solo excavated the melody from a solid body of improvisation while the steady cadence of John Clarke’s exemplary work on cymbals and brushes rooted the tune. The only way the band could have improved the evening’s music was by playing The Way You Look Tonight — which they proceeded to do. Jay performed a chiming, charging solo while Grainger’s alto scooted and soared above and John Clarke’s drumming skilfully kicked the number forward. This was bop adapted for the dinner hour, and none the worse for it. The sun descended in a benign hot blaze over Tower Bridge, the blue sky scribbled with white contrails as One Note Samba provided a showcase for soloists. Steve Grainger’s fluid sax purred with restraint as he skirted the tune and Noel Jay played bright raucous phrases and dancing long lines against the backdrop of Matt Tween’s big, ripe bass and John Clarke’s steady, constant shimmer of drums. I could also tell you about The Girl from Ipanema but I was too busy concentrating on my moist, flavoursome chicken breast in ratatouille — which is a pity, because both Grainger’s sax and Jay’s keyboards were at their best as I stuffed my mouth full of buttery mashed potato. With the riggings of the Cutty Sark floating above the dark trees and the nocturnal sweep of the city silhouetted against the last of the blue sky, it was clear that this was an unbeatable way to spend an evening. Great music, great food, great experience. "

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"Just amazing! Now that the dust has settled from our wedding and we’ve a chance to leave a review we really wanted to say how amazing Talisha and her crew were in bringing our special day to life. At every moment Talisha was responsive, affable and professional. Nothing was too much trouble for them. They made it really easy and their playlists were fantastic, and they even learned the song for our first dance. The acoustic duo was beautiful during our reception and the sets they played into the night kept the dance floor going.Talisha has an amazing voice and a great energy and the rest of the band complete the sound. Their performance and musicianship were on point. We can’t recommend them enough. Thank you all so much for bringing our special day to life."

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"What a fantastic performance you gave at my 40th party! As promised we really did dance all night and 3 months on people are still talking about the great band I had at the party! People’s faces watching you all walk into the room in costume will remain a very comical memory for a long time! Please pass on my thanks to everyone in the band, it was a complete success! Thanks again."

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"Eccentric Pony were excellent. I highly recommend them!"

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"We had PyroBeats for my daughters 30th birthday about a year or so ago, just the disco and they were terrific. They were so good that I booked them again for my 70th. This time we included the light show and the saxophonist. What a great night, all was perfect and made the night very, very special. Highly recommend."

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"When your wedding guests say: “the band were amazing!”… “how did you find the band?”… “every song was perfect”… “I was so tired the next day because I danced all night!” - you know you struck gold! Mitch & the band were brilliant from start to finish, playing our small village hall like it was Glasto!! Such amazing energy and a faultless set list that got all the parents, aunts and uncles onto the dance floor as well as us 30-somethings!! They knew how to get a crowd going and our dance floor was hopping the whole night. The band graciously learned a new song for us, which we appreciated no end, especially when they played it as the penultimate song and the crowd went wild for it!! Mitch was easy to deal with, and really kind and accommodating to us as first-time band hirers. On the night the whole group were really patient with us when the order of the day ran late. Thanks for playing your part in making our celebration the best time ever, we’re so grateful! If you’ve read this far, don’t hesitate, book them now! "

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"Just wanted to thank you and the band for helping to make our company’s 40th Anniversary celebration a resounding success. We had over 140 guests and have had so many comments on how fantastic the band were. Sincere thanks again and we hope to book you again in the very near future."

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"I wanted to get in touch now we are back from honeymoon to say thank you so so much for the fab set you guys played for the wedding- we have had so many people compliment us on the brilliant choice in the band and as one of the guests pointed out, I think the only time the dance floor was empty was when you guys went on your break and you even got my uncle dancing who never does! Thank you again, we had a brilliant day and we are so pleased that we had Soulstar as our band."

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"Brilliant band, very efficient, on time, set a great mood for the 1920s party - highly recommended, thank you very much for a great evening. "

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"Ge ready to move!"

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"I just wanted to send you an email to say thank you so much for absolutely making our wedding evening! The music was fantastic and everyone absolutely loved it, even my Nan! A band was an absolute 'must' for us and I'm so glad we chose you guys! You guys were great from the first email I sent, to the evening of our wedding. Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

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"Absolutely fantastic from start to finish. Cannot recommend these lovely lads enough, everyone loved them and Rhonas communication before and after made the whole process easy, thank you! :)"

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"This band are incredible!!! They made our day even more perfect! They sounded amazing; played all the songs we love and we’re just brilliant in every way! I cannot thank them enough!"

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