Review Centre: Bands & Ensembles

"Just wanted to say thanks very much for Saturday night everybody really enjoyed themselves! You managed to get most people up dancing which is what we wanted! All our guests said how good you both were. Thanks very much again!! :-) "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you for our booking with Primed. They were amazing and we had a great time. We have recommended them to friends and family and we will again use them in the future."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"A huge Thank you to the whole band for your wonderful performances at my daughters birthday party. Everyone had a fantastic time, I don' think we stopped dancing all evening. The choice of songs were fantastic so entertaining and something for everyone."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

" We hired The Fireflies for our festival style wedding and we could not have been happier from start to finish. Ian got in touch and introduced himself and discussed everything we needed to know. They were great at communicating with us and going through our music choices. On the day they kept us updated with their arrival time. The live music was so incredible, it was really amazing that the whole band got involved with our guests changing the odd word in a song and having a dance with us all. It really made our wedding having such a great live band, all of our guests commented brilliant they were too. We would definitely recommend. Thank you so much. Fran and James"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you SouthWest for bringing such good tunes, fun vibes and brilliant atmosphere to our wedding. Medleys we're ace! Every one of our guests said how great you were and we had an absolute blast! Very talented, lovely bunch who gave us memories to cherish forever. We found it really hard deciding on a wedding band, but get these guys booked, you won't be disappointed! xx"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Latina Festivale - Easy to communicate, delivering an excellent service. Music and atmosphere great. Thank you guys! Ziggy."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Was an absolutely brilliant night! Not an inch of space left on the dance floor with so many people up dancing! Thanks guys! Xx"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I wanted to pass on our thanks for all you did to make Saturday night so memorable. Everyone was incredibly impressed with your musicianship, your ability to really get people going, and your sense of enjoyment and fun that set the tone for the dancing and singing. Several of our guests want to book you for their event!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Henry was a pleasure to deal with throughout, and the band were great all evening. They took into consideration our music tastes when making the setlist and learnt some new songs that we had requested. All the guests commented on how good they were and the dance floor was full all evening. We cannot recommend them highly enough."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"One of the pleasures of writing for Jazz Views is having the opportunity to follow the progress of an artist with each new release. It has been my very great pleasure to follow Lush Jazz Band's progress over the last few years. Having reviewed Lauren’s debut album, in 2016 and the follow-up, five years later, it was with great interest that I listened to her third album. If you’re looking for continued growth and artistic development in a musician, then Lauren has certainly delivered. Earlier today, prior to writing this review, I listened again to all three albums back-to-back and was amazed at what I was hearing. Listening in such a concentrated way, I was struck by how consistent each of the albums is and how the vocalist’s progress is not taking place with gargantuan leaps but steadily, as we can see here, in a paced and sustainable development. One huge advantage for Lauren is retaining the services of pianist Liam Dunachie, who arranges much of the music, and the two have built a solid rapport that has resulted in a formidable partnership. With “Tide Rises,” Lauren Bush has found a perfect balance between the old and the new, with a couple of strong original compositions, a handful of standards, and some contemporary works that she has done a wonderful job of adapting to her voice. The album gets off to a stunning start with a brisk and swinging “Joy Spring.” The tricky lyrics are handled with great aplomb by Bush, and after a lovely solo from Dunachie, she gets in a nice scat chorus of her own. This is followed by the title track, one of two original compositions, in which Lauren has drawn inspiration for the lyrics from the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Played over an ethereal opening from Rhodes and guitar (and the only song to feature electric bass), the music evolves over a gentle tempo with an empowering delivery from Lauren. The other original, “Easy Does It,” has a relaxed, almost lazy tempo, and Lauren has written lyrics that add to the gospel flavor of the music. Versatility and variety being the name of the game, we are treated to a beautiful bossa nova written by Earl Okin titled “Madrugada,” and Joni Mitchell’s “Circle Game” is given a delightful treatment, with some exquisite playing from all. The music flows in a beguiling manner, and Mitchell’s lyrics are given a sensitive reading by the vocalist. Standards have been a constant inspiration for Lauren, and with the depth of maturity that she has gained in the last few years, I have witnessed her raise her game significantly. It is difficult to pick one over another. Her treatment of “Oh What A Beautiful Morning” is flawless and joyous, with a lovely scat solo too, and “Nobody Else But Me” has a charm all of its own. If proof is needed of Bush’s stature as a jazz vocalist, then take a listen to the ballad performance on “This Is Always.” A duet for voice and piano, this is a pure delight and even, dare I say it, surpasses the duo’s reading of “Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most,” which was such a highlight of her last album, “Dream Away.” Closing with another contemporary tune, this time from the pop duo Yazoo, Lauren and Liam Dunachie cleverly recast Vince Clarke’s song, with Lauren giving the excellent Alison Moyet a run for her money. Another step forward for Lauren in a hugely enjoyable set that sees her setting the bar increasingly higher."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you all so much for playing for our son’s wedding -  we have received so many complements on your playing and Jill’s calling. Even people who did not want to take part in the dancing said that they so enjoyed watching and listening to the music. Basically you wore most people out and they definitely faded when the disco came on, but we soldiered on until midnight! "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Excellent Performance !! Jo has a lovely soulful voice and Adam's piano skills were fantastic. Adam and Jo were the perfect duo for our company dinner party event. They arrived on time, their set up was quick and straight forward and most importantly, the performance was great. I would highly recommend them both. Thank you!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I thought they were playing a CD (of Sinatra) until I came around the corner and saw it was you singing!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you! I Really enjoyed your performance today in Cheltenham! Massive talent!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"The Gold Quartet performed at our wedding ceremony and reception and it was exactly what we were hoping for! We made a special request for our march in music and they were very quick to send us a demo which was very impressive. We are so glad to have them performing at our reception in the Sudeley Castle garden. They set the perfect tone while our guests and ourselves were enjoying the wine and music."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: