Review Centre: Saxophone Players

"WOW. Tyler Varnell is a superstar! I'm not exaggerating when I say every single guest approached us during the wedding to tell us how incredible Tyler was. He is engaging, fun, talented and knows how to get the party started and keep it going. His song book covers all genres, and he played a variety of music that appealed to all guests, regardless of age (my girlfriends went INSANE when he played "Mr. Brightside" -- he can do it all!). If you are looking for entertainment to truly "wow" your guests, hire Tyler. You won't be disappointed!!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Wedding Date: 29th November We had Tommy play at our wedding recently and couldn’t be happier with his performance. He played during the meal and right up until our band came on. We wanted something to fill that gap, and it went down a treat, so many guests mentioned it on the day and have continued to since! Great price for something like this too. Definitely worth every cent. Would highly recommend. Thank you, Tommy!"

Reply by Tommy Sax Ireland Entertainment
Thank you, Sandra, delighted I could help fill that special part of your day! Thanks, Tommy 🎷

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:

"Your duo did very well, and I will certainly approach you again and recommend you to others."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you very much for your contribution to our staff party. Everyone was super excited! I've only gotten compliments; food, venue, band, activities, etc. Thank you!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Just wanted to say thank you so much for everything on our engagement night, everyone enjoyed the music very much and it really made our night so special. We will definitely pass your details to friends in the future!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you so much, you guys are amazing! Everyone said how much they enjoyed the band, and I couldn't recommend you all enough. Thanks again for an amazing night, my feet are still recovering from dancing all night!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"ChatGPT said: Absolutely phenomenal! Darron Carrington brought an unforgettable vibe to our event with his soulful saxophone performance. The music was smooth, rich, and full of emotion—exactly what we needed to set the perfect tone. His talent and energy created an incredible ambiance that had everyone captivated. Highly recommended!!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Rafael was absolutely fantastic throughout the whole process of wedding planning. We saw his music list and knew he’d get our vibe straight away. Not only was the performance really good, but the communication from start to finish was also great. Rafael planned the whole day of music - welcome drinks around the pool, background songs for dinner and then got the party going in the evening with some great songs and our guests loved it. A mixture of current and old school! Traveling over to France could have been too much to ask for with the uncertainty of the pandemic, but that didn’t stop him and we were super happy to see him without any mishaps of travel on the day. We are really grateful for your time ? Katie & Nick Carpenter-Brooks"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. From start to finish, Mark was top drawer. We were in touch quite early on in the process and Mark was of enormous help with arranging the evening and playlists; he was super flexible and especially so with a last minute change. His act is amazing and no surprise that he managed to get almost everyone involved. The next day, I had loads of feedback from friends saying how much they enjoyed Mark's show. I couldn't have imagined things working out any better and wouldn't hesitate for a moment to recommend Mark. Superb. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We had Scotty play the saxophone during our wedding ceremony, and he was absolutely perfect. He arrived early, was professional and prepared, and played beautifully throughout the event. We couldn’t have asked for a better musician. Highly recommend!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

""You were brilliant and absolutely made our day. So many of our guests commented on how good you are and how it just made the most wonderful garden party atmosphere. I wouldn't consider a celebration without you! You are talented, very professional and a really nice guy who went the extra mile to help us create the day that we wanted.""

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Dr.Saxy played awesome saxophone versions of Disney and popular songs. Really set the mood at Mercado. Thank you "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Came , worked hard, did what he needed to do and what was asked of him."

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: