Review Centre: Pop Bands

"From their arrival at my 60th Birthday Party Moondance slotted in seamlessly with no fuss. They performed three 40 minute sets and were brilliant."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"What a night! We booked Klinsmann for our wedding night on the 11th JAN 2019 in Cologne, Germany just before COVID-19 and were not left disappointed. The dance floor was full the whole time and they played great music all night. I've had numerous wedding guests send me texts and tell me personally that Klinsmann were the best band they've seen at a wedding and were asking for their details. It was a little bit tricky to get everything sorted as they had to travel specifically for our wedding but they also managed to get some other gigs during their stay in Germany. We can't thank them enough for making our special day even more special!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Brilliant night! Everyone really enjoyed their set. Great mix of songs, everyone was up and dancing! Hayley and Emma both have great personality’s and superb voices. Will book them again! "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Charlie Jennison's debut album for Maine's Invisible Music Records is a smooth piece of work. "Smooth" not in the sense of the saccharine stuff served up by contemporary jazz players, but smooth as in classy unpretentiousness in the playing. Jennison is an alumnus of the Do'ah Wild Music Ensemble, a New Hampshire group which recorded for Global Pacific label. He has since gravitated to jazz having recorded with singers Kathleen Kolman and Leila Percy, among others. Jennison has also worked with Dizzy Gillespie, Clark Terry and Buddy DeFranco and is on the faculty of New Hampshire's Phillips Exeter Academy. Forsaking standard material for his first album, the play list is made up of ten Jennison originals all in various tempi and style, but which start getting repetitious along the way as ideas get thin. Some of the better pieces include "To You, From Me" which features Jennison on alto with some exciting drum breaks by Ken Clark. Another piece spotlighting Jennison's alto, which sounds like Phil Woods when Woods is in a mellow mood, is the lovely ballad "Georgie," with "My Anne" rivaling "Georgie" for sheer musical attractiveness. The tenor takes over on "Watch Your Step" with Jennison showing some incredible dexterity with daring fingering technique. There's a nice blues with a funky piano solo by Jim Butka and good bass strumming from John Hunter on "Amanda's Blues." Jennison brings out his soprano on "Rain in My Coffee" which has a light Latin beat with more good piano from Jim Butka. But virtually all tunes on this session take the same course. There's an introduction establishing the basic melody structure, followed by some technically compelling fingering after which there's a return to the melody. No matter how good the instrumentalist is —and Jennison is very good—unless the original material is superior, it's not going to hold one's attention for a whole sitting. And that is the case here. I have heard Jennison on other albums and he handles standard stuff very well. It would have behooved him to have put a couple of those on this CD. This would have strengthened the credibility of the original material."

Reply by Charlie Jennison Quartet
I appreciate Dave Nathan's willingness to review my flagship release and also recognize his candor in suggesting that the original material I wrote could have been strengthened by including some standard tunes as well. I would like to note that, in more than one instance, I used the framework of a jazz standard as the foundation for a new composition. For example, on the track, "To You, From Me," I employed the chord progression to Cole Porter's "You Do Something To Me." My tune, "Amanda's Blues" is also just a variation of a standard minor blues. With a lifetime of experience playing, I now recognize his observation of "virtually all tunes on this session take the same course," to be spot on. This was, after all, my first (and only) excursion into the realm of recorded jazz, and as a young player, I still had a lot to learn about crafting the presentation of material in a more interesting way. Now that I am getting close to 80 years old, I have decided to create another album of original material with the same players, kind of like a bookend to wrap up a successful career teaching and playing (although not recording). Look for a release sometime in 2026!

Rating: 8 / 10 Share this review:

"We hired Herding Kats for my husbands 40th. From the start of the booking process the communication was phenomenal! Gary kept in constant contact and made sure everything was what we wanted! The band turned up with so much equipment, the set up was incredible! The band was super interactive and had all our guests not only up and dancing but on the stage singing and playing with the band! We absolutely loved the energy and all our guests said how amazing they were! I would highly recommend for any occasion and we will be booking with herding kats again!! Thank you for making my husbands birthday a real special night!!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"The first person I contacted when I started planning our wedding was Bernadette from Baseline Studios! They are the most incredible band & I wasn’t getting married if they weren’t playing. We were so lucky to have them apart of our special day! Our wedding was such a vibe & so much fun thanks to them. We need to plan another party for an excuse to party with Baseline again!! They are an absolute MUST for your wedding or party. They’re apart of the fam now!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Das Brass was a blast at the Manchester city Fans zone at Wembley stadium. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Lady J were absolutely fantastic - they capped a wonderful day for our wedding in the perfect way. From the first moment they really got our reception party going with an amazing positive atmosphere and our guests were up dancing from the first tune to the last. An amazing set list of songs which I trusted them to choose having seen them a number of times before. Every performance has been amazing. Janelle has such a wonderful voice and Felix is a truly great guitar player. One guest is still talking about him as the best live player he has seen (and he has seen a few!). They were so easy to deal with they organised all the technical requirements directly with the venue, really professional, and absolutely seamless on the day. Could not recommend more. Do yourselves a favour and book them."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Great, Great, Great Our crowd LOVED you and I am so appreciative of how flexible you all were!! You were an amazing addition to our day and we can’t wait to have you back! Highly recommend!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"The Cheers tailored our setlist by establishing which of their songs we liked/disliked etc as well as taking into account the age demographic of the wedding, and they even learnt our first dance song so they could play it live! Communication leading up to the wedding was very good, the band arrived and set up on time, and were even able to provide the background music whilst we ate, as well as use of the microphones for the speeches. The band's performance was superb and had everybody dancing and engaged. Would highly recommend The Cheers!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"A true professional...he was able to dictate the timing of the music in an optimal way in every moment of the ceremony...he made us all sing and dance, from the youngest to the oldest without ever being intrusive...thanks Vincenzo, from the heart.... Simone & Fabiana"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"A very belated 'thank you' to you all for playing at my 50th Birthday party on 12/13 June. You all helped to make it a very special evening and there were rave reviews from the guests! Thank you once again. best wishes Carolyn (Liney)"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Super lovely band, easy to deal with, great set list and repertoire, very flexible with line ups and options and most importantly, a great sound and vibe. Thanks for a great evening guys, you were fab!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I can’t thank Stefano, Kaya and the whole of Good Time Soul Foundation enough. They are such a talented band. Stefano was so great to communicate with, nothing was too much trouble. We chose some very special songs for the ceremony which the band played perfectly!!! Stefano even incorporated the sound of the steel drum into my aisle song, which was a dream come true. Kaya has such a beautiful voice and every song blew me away. All our guests were so complimentary and danced the whole set. I am so grateful I found this band for our special day, it was a moment I will truly never forget! Thank you Good Time Soul Foundation. Love Sarah and Jim"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Die John Paul Band hat unsere Hochzeit musikalisch auf ein ganz neues Niveau gehoben. Stilvolle Musik zum Dinner und eine unglaubliche Partystimmung später am Abend. Die Tanzfläche war durchgehend voll und die Gäste waren begeistert. Sehr professionell, sympathisch und absolut empfehlenswert."

Reply by John Paul Band
Vielen lieben Dank für eure wunderbare Rückmeldung! Es war uns eine große Freude, euren besonderen Tag musikalisch zu begleiten. Dass eure Gäste so begeistert waren, bedeutet uns sehr viel. Alles Gute für eure gemeinsame Zukunft!

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: