Review Centre: Function Bands

"Just outstanding! This band made me smile from the minute they started performing. They have an energy about them… They clearly love what they do, and it shows!"

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"Just wanted to reaffirm how grateful Hannah and I are for the amazing performance you and the band gave for our wedding on Saturday! Brilliant performanc from you all, great choice of music and a pleasure to have you all as part of our very special day! Thank you so much for the two of us! Chris & Hannah"

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"We hired The StereoBeats for our wedding and it was honestly unreal. No words can describe the atmosphere the band created, we had so many compliments. They had the full place on their feet! I hope to be at an event with them some time soon! x"

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"It is without any doubt whatsoever that Golden Gospel made the ceremony so beautiful for many many people. I truly lost count of the number of guests throughout the day who approached me to say how professional Golden Gospel are. Golden Gospel are truly a breath of fresh air and I feel blessed to have found you. "

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"Incredible performance! Would definitely book again!"

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"Just a quick note to thank you to you and the band for all your work towards Saturday evening at Chawton Ball. You were prompt and flexible, particularly when our start timings shifted a bit! As I mentioned, there was quite a bit at stake and usual high expectations from the band – and you definitely pulled it off: the dance floor was fit to burst and everyone begged for more! Thanks for creating a playlist for us, too and patiently dealing with the quirks of working with volunteers. Overall the evening was a success (and that’s a huge relief!)."

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"Thank you and the musicians for the excellent service you provided for our wedding. Your performances were great and very popular with our guests. Thank you for making the day and whole process leading up to it run so smoothly."

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"We had this lovely duo at our wedding and we could not have been happier with our choice of musicians. They are the loveliest people who were so accommodating for any music choices we wanted. Our guests loved them and they were very good at reading the room and knowing when to change the music up. They set themselves up in the hall and were so unproblematic. Matt added comedy when interacting with our guests and Jackie’s voice was just so beautiful. I could not recommend more. Thank you both for adding such incredible entertainment for our special day and being the easiest people to work with!"

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"Just wanted to let you know that we had a great night, The Fortes Band were amazing, nothing was too much trouble they put together a mix of songs from a favourites list we sent them, thank you for your help with the booking "

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"Please thank the band for making the evening amazing, being professional and well organized. The full band including the brass created a full complete sound which many of my guests commented on. The dance floor was filled! I have spent the last week receiving compliments saying how good the band was and how did I find you!"

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"The band was fantastic. It created exactly the right atmosphere for the party and the repertoire went down very well with the guest. The band was very organised and professional, and all the arrangements went very smoothly. Highly recommended. "

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"You guys are AMAZING!!!!!! Seeing you perform at my sister's wedding last night, in Ilfracombe, was a highlight of what was an already perfect day and we all had the time of our lives; you had the entire wedding party up on their feet and many of the girls went home with black soles from taking off their heels so they could dance! Everyone commented on how great you were, how it was the best wedding they had ever been to/best band they'd seen at a wedding and how well your quirky style fitted in with the venue and the relaxed, but fun, atmosphere of Jane and Perry's wedding. Really, really great job, thanks for coming all the way... love the hats...sorry you had to give them up for the majority of the night!"

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"Thank you so much for making our wedding such a great day. Our first dance song was absolutely brilliant!!! thanks again, Rebecca and Andrew "

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"I just wanted to write to you and the band to pass on our thanks for putting on such a great show. We thoroughly enjoyed your performance, as we knew we would after seeing you play live in Central London. We would also like to let you know that all of our guests were full of compliments for you guys and still mention your performance now, so I think that shows what a great impression you left on everyone. "

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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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