Review Centre: Bands & Ensembles

"Excellent band. Wonderful accompaniment for our International Scholarships Reception for the second year running."

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"Very talented, her voice brings chills and soothes the soul!"

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"Sara’s band was absolutely amazing! Also, in the booking process & any communication up to the event, Sara was always very quick to respond & so helpful. It made planning an event so much easier. Thank you!"

Reply by The Swing Outs
Hi Helen, Thank you so much for your kind review. I’m glad I could help make the process easier. The event was a great success - well done! All the best, Sara Oschlag

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"We had a brilliant night at the Christmas Ceilidh with Iron Broo. Great band. Highly recommended. Thank you."

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"The band were absolutely fantastic they did my 60th birthday, everyone absolutely loved them, the singers were brilliant, the musicians were first class, could not recommend them highly enough, would definitely use them again. Sharon Jones, Birthday Party at a Private House in Essex – 10th September 2022 "

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"Had great feedback regarding your performance last week, thank you so much for everything."

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"I would only book the best for our amazing day - you didn't disappoint !! Everyone loved it "

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"Cats whiskers have played many times at our club Enfield Conservative club Quicksteps Waltzes Foxtrot Latin Cha Cha Cha Rumba they play at a Soft Volume which members like I have booked cats whiskers Saturday 23 June Armed Forces Day 2018 excellent value Punctual and Reliable. Valerie Norris "

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"[Gaylene] Parish's voice was warm and expressive throughout, and Williams proved to be the ideal accompanist with his light, melodic touch and studied rhythmic flow. John Barham played strong, firm bass lines, and the three sounds - piano, voice and bass - blended together successfully."

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"Hi Nat, We just wanted to send you an email to say a big thank you to you and the band for the amazing music that you provided for our wedding on Saturday. We cannot thank you enough for the arrangement of L-O-V-E, the band sounded awesome and we enjoyed ourselves so much dancing to it - we could almost forget how embarrassed we were about dancing in front of everyone! Thank you for keeping up the energy all night and providing two fantastic sets. We have had such a lot of great feedback about you from all of our guests - particularly the musicians among them! I was told in multiple languages by multiple trumpet players how amazing your trumpet player was, and the rest of the band were absolutely awesome too. Finally, we really want to thank all of the band for how kind and generous with their time they were with our niece and nephew - the kids loved every second, and we now know the little man would like a drum kit for Christmas! with very best wishes, Oli and Jo Clarke"

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"Dorian Sax was absolutely brilliant and really brought a great atmosphere. Would definitely recommend."

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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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" Dear Anne, thank you so much for the excellent concert performance and well balanced programme at Harper Adams University last week. "

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"Great music for my birthday party."

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"You were brilliant as a band! I went reeling last night again and they were not a patch on you, I'll be in touch about dates for next year. Once again thank you so much!"

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