Review Centre: Musical Acts

"Thank you, Valeryia! Everyone is saying how wonderful you were! Thank you again!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Next gig you guys do, we're going to have to get someone on the door."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you so much Cristina! We are so grateful to have you and the band with us on our special day!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Che dire? Ascoltarla ed emozionarsi è un privilegio. Aspetto solo che il suo immenso talento venga riconosciuto perché la sua voce dialoga con l'anima di chi si fa trascinare dall'atmosfera che trasforma una piaźza in un luogo dei sogni. Brava Lunaspina, averti ascoltataba Bologna è stato un onore."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Awesome arrangements and performances of the great Classic Standards!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"What an amazing performance this eve at cafe5. Thank you so much guys for sharing your music and culture. Beautiful Flamenco!!! It was magic!!!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Dealing with Lena was great, she was very professional and very talented. Light costume is great. She played ad-lib over our play list which was great! It made the night. Thank You Lena!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Kate was absolutely amazing, and we are so pleased that we booked Kate to play during the arrival drinks at our wedding. Our guests commented about how lovely it was when they arrived at our wedding venue after the church service and they heard Kate playing, as she helped create a fantastic focal point. Kate also played the music choices we had requested, which made it an even more personal touch. We loved Kate's playing and she also brought several outfits with her so she could co-ordinate with our colour theme, which was such a kind thoughtful gesture. We cannot recommend Kate highly enough - she was fantastic. Thank you so much."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"There have been many jazz musicians – saxophonists John Coltrane and George Brooks to name a couple – who have been intrigued by the melodic and rhythmic complexities of Hindustani classical music. Saxophonist Rainer Pusch, how!ever, belongs to the rare breed of Western musicians who have been influenced by Carnatic music. The Carnatic connection came later, but jazz caught Pusch’s interest at an early age. As a 12-year-old learning the tenor sax, a “very bad teacher” scared him into quitting lessons and starting to jam with friends. “At the age of 14 I got into jazz,” he told us. “I heard the first album by [American free jazz saxophonist] Pharaoh Sanders and this album [Pharaoh’s First] kicked me in.” Pusch got completely hooked after his brother smuggled him into The Cave, a jazz club in Heidelberg. “They had jam sessions every Tuesday,” he said. “It was 1968, the time of free jazz, underground music and the hippie era. Heidelberg was the headquarters of the US army in Europe, and there were a lot of army clubs, where I found my first steady work.” Playing for Americans every Friday and Saturday was an ideal start. It was a stroke of luck that Pusch met his “first jazz guru”, saxophonist Pony Poindexter. “Pony Poindexter’s wife worked for the army and they were living in Mannheim at the time,” Pusch said. “Pony had already subbed for Charlie Parker in Billy Eckstine’s big band, recorded with [guitarist] Wes Montgomery, the vocal trio Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, and many others.” Pusch started taking lessons from Poindexter and, after a while, they started performing together. Poindexter was instrumental, in helping Pusch further his jazz education by introducing him to other American musicians. “He knew everybody,” Pusch recalled. “Through him, I met Dexter Gordon. Art Blakey sat in with us when we played an outdoor gig.” Later, in 1977, Pusch stayed with Poindexter in New York, where he met the cream of the city’s jazz scene. “He invited Philly Joe Jones to stay for two weeks in our Lower East Side loft; I met Eddie Jefferson, Bob Berg, Junior Cook,” Pusch said. He also took lessons from George Coleman, who had briefly been part of Miles Davis’s band in the early ’60s. On his return to Germany, Pusch released his first album as leader of his own outfit. However, his connection to America persisted; he would return to earn a degree in jazz composition and arrangement from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, in 1983. Pusch’s first album Journey Agent, released in 1981, was an assimilation of the styles typical of hard bop and post-bop American musicians he had met during the past decade. On the album, his quartet, which included piano, double bass and drums, performed originals and a cover of “Mixing Pot” by Brazilian musician Hermeto Pascoal. Mostly mid-tempo numbers, the tunes ranged from the ballad-like “Scientific” and earthy “B-flat Blues” to funky, Latin-inflected “Mixing”. “I’m influenced by all the players I like to listen to,” Pusch said. “That’s the secret about jazz. It isn’t only music; it’s a philosophy of personal self-development built on tolerance and the art of living in the moment.” He has performed in a variety of formats: duo, trio, quartet and big bands. Pusch is also a composer and arranger who has scored symphonic pieces for films. Pusch’s first major Indian encounter was in the late-’90s, when he performed at the Avignon Theatre Festival in France. “It had a focus on India, and members of the Kalakshetra College of Dance and Music were performing,” he said. “I got in touch with them and decided to go to Chennai to study.” Pusch received a scholarship from ICCR and moved with his family to Chennai in 1996. He would remain there for more than two years, studying Carnatic vocal from S Rajaram and rhythms from V Selvaganesh. “I got into the movie business and performed for many music directors, inclu!ding AR Rahman,” he said. There have been Carnatic saxo!phonists, like Kadri Gopalnath, before him, but Pusch is probably the first Westerner to perform the traditional south Indian style on the sax. He has also arranged compositions by Thyagaraja, Mysore Vasudeva and others, using a rhythm section comprised of guitar, bass and drums. “We respect the raga, but put it in a harmonic frame,” he said. “It’s not the style, but the attitude of the musician that counts. The future of music, art and culture lies in a respectful, well-understood and lived fusion. Not in a commercial, fast food con-fusion.”"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"The best day of my life!!! I booked Matt for my wedding reception to entertain my guests and wow they were entertained!!! Matt got everyone up dancing and singing along to a variety of music to keep everyone happy! From the start, Matt’s communication was great. He replied quickly to my messages, answering all the questions I had and put on the best performance! He arrived with plenty of time to set up and even played my entrance song for me when my husband and I walked in! This is a moment I will remember forever. Everyone commented on how amazing he was and I’ve passed details over!!! Hope to see you again, Matt! Thank you so much for the coming and playing for us! "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"They will be one of the greatest guitarists in the world of pure flamenco and South American guitar, Miguel Fernandez, with his group, and the jam session with Joe Castellano & The Soul legends, the fourth appointment of the five promotional stages that anticipate the return of the Blues & Wine Soul Festival Sicily Circuit 2011. The concert will take place tomorrow evening, 7 August, in the Hotel Villa Athena, Valley of the Temples, Agrigento. The Blues & Wine Soul Festival is a great wine and music event, created to combine the phenomenon of blues, soul and gospel music performed by internationally renowned musicians, considered the greatest voices of world music in the world, with the best wine productions Sicilians. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"My wedding day was a dream. Part of that special day was provided by the singer David Hidalgo. In church his singing was sober and powerful. I didn't meet him until the day of the wedding and I can attest that in person he sounds spectacular. Everyone was delighted and even 2 godmothers in my courtship hired him when they heard him. Thanks David!"

Reply by David Hidalgo
Dear Paula, reading your words truly moved me. It was an absolute honor to be the 'soundtrack' to such a sacred and beautiful chapter of your life. There is a unique magic in singing at a church ceremony, and I am thrilled to know that my voice resonated with the dream you had for your wedding day. Knowing that your guests—and even your bridesmaids—connected with my art is the greatest reward a singer can receive. I wish you and your husband a lifetime of harmony. See you at the next celebration.

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We’ve had m-SAX play at Torworth Lakes a few times now and he’s just brilliant. He creates such a lovely atmosphere every time - whether it’s chilled afternoon drinks or something a bit more upbeat, he just gets it right. So easy to work with, turns up, gets set up, and makes the whole place feel that bit more special."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Jim, it has been an absolute pleasure working with you. Thanks so much for your flexibility. Wow!!! (Learning curve for me lol). Looking forward to collaborating again in the future. All the best Juliet"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Best dj ever!!! With playlists that suit everyone’s music taste🥳🥳"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: