Review Centre: Pop Bands

"4/06/23 - Hello Pete, I hope this finds you well. Thank you for THE SHOW MUST GO ON !! we had a great crowd of very enthusiastic people for the show last night… ☺ Warm Cheers, Caroline ☺ Caroline Drogue QPT Finance Officer QUEENS PARK THEATRE GERALDTON WA."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"You both guys brought authentic Latin fire to Australia. Legends!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We can’t say enough great things about The Lorean who played at our wedding! From the very first song to the final one, they nailed it. The energy, the talent, and the way they read the room was spot on. Many of our guests commented on how amazing the band was, they played many high-energy hits that got everyone moving, every moment felt well timed and well performed. It wasn't easy picking a band, we watched some online videos/reviews, but very happy we ended up with them: If you're looking for a band that brings the fun, great hits, and people will remember – this is the one to book!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We absolutely loved Mustang — our wedding party was amazing! Their playlist was perfect and they played beautifully. We also really appreciated their ability to adapt to the day’s unexpected twists and their friendly yet professional attitude. A huge thank you again — we wholeheartedly recommend them!"

Reply by Mustang - French riviera #1 wedding band
Thank you so much for your wonderful feedback! 🎉 We had such a great time celebrating with you — your energy and your guests made the night unforgettable. We’re thrilled that you enjoyed the music and that everything flowed so naturally, even with the little surprises of the day! All our best wishes for the future ❤️ — The Mustang Team 🎵

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"The evening was absolutely smooth thanks to the positive vibes this band added."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We enjoyed the music tonight in Little Elm, TX Thank you, y'all were Awesome!! Please come back next year. Stay safe and Hurry Back to our sweet Town of Little Elm,TX."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Damien and his band were absolutely excellent. A veritable human juke box, so responsive and flexible when I ran into some venue snags. All my guests commented on how great the music was. Can’t recommend them enough!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We saw Obsession Duo (Chrissie Crook-Davies is amazing on the sax V) The New Bar Internationale New Bar International last night and they were fantastic A totally different experience, and lovely people as well. Check them out if you get a chance you won't regret it. We found their repertoire exciting and a wonderful team for a great night!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"“The Ambrassadors made our wedding an even more unforgettable day. They knew exactly how to get everyone up dancing, with an incredible set list and amazing energy our guests are still talking about how amazing the band at our wedding were. Thank you so much!” "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Wow wow wow! La Sooph you completely blew us away last Saturday night! We thought your videos were excellent and you were even better in real life! Thank you for helping to create such a fun evening."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"A HUGE HUGE thank you for everything on Saturday, you guys absolutely rocked!! The dance floor was full all and very merry! Sorry I didn't have a chance to properly chat to you, but just thought you guys were amazing. Thank you for making it so easy to deal with you guys in terms of playlists, editing first dances etc. And thanks for your patience on the day with timings, I wish we could have gone on and on, I just don't know where the time went. Thank you for everything and enjoy the rest of the summer weddings. We had such a fantastic weekend, celebrations continued and now rather broken, looking forward to lying on a beach! All the best, Natasha and James x"

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 got these guys back and they put on a great performance, great energy and can’t wait to have you back . "

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 came across Alive and Kicking on the site, I liked the video and their song list, so I thought I'd book them for New Year's Eve 2019. I had a date spare for August, so I thought it would be good to get them to play a date before New Year. After a few emails back and forth to Jan, and speaking to Rich, we were all looking forward to them playing at Calmore Community Centre. They were very professional on arrival and setting up, and have to say they went down a storm. A fantastic variety of songs from most eras and all sounded great. I'm very glad we have them for New Year's Eve, and we all can't wait to see them again. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: