Review Centre: Brass Musicians

"Mark was absolutely fantastic on Saturday 9th July for my best friends wedding reception. So glad I found him. Played 2 hours during the day and then 2 hours in the evening and absolutely smashed it, the choice of songs were perfect everyone loved it and danced all night long. Definitely recommend. Think I'll be using him again for my 40th 2023 (10 / 10) Zoe Hallas"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Hi Steed, On behalf of both Danielle and myself we would like to thank you for all your hard work on Saturday. Everybody that we spoke to said that it was such a great added touch to the entertainment. Everybody commented on how good it was. Thanks again, Jamie & Danielle "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Arranged Mark for our daughters wedding, soooo amazing!! From guiding us through our music choice , rehearsals, and delivering fantastic music on the day I can’t recommend him highly enough thank you so much ! (10 / 10)"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We particularly wanted a soul band and during our seemingly endless search of bands we were just drawn to The Soul Department! They played at our evening wedding reception earlier this month. Good reviews usually state pros and cons however, the band genuinely do not have any cons! They were professional from the onset, sounded incredible, looked incredible, great repertoire, were brilliant fun and had our wedding party rockin'!!! From start to finish they had our guests on their feet, we loved every minute! Exactly what we wanted! Cannot recommend these guys enough, worth their weight in gold, definitely will book them again, no question!! Thank you, you were amazing!! Melanie Cook xx"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Mark is simply a legend....! I'm so glad that I found his advert and decided to hire him to play at my Wife's 50th Birthday. An intimate gig to around 40 people, in a private section of a cocktail bar in Warrington, Cheshire. Great comms before the event and turned up early to set up, ahead of guests arriving. Mark started with a couple of smooth soul/jazz/funk sets before upping the tempo in later sets and literally had our party revellers dancing on the tables! A really nice guy, very professional, great sound system and a skilled saxophonist, who was willing to play anything for us! 100% Mark made the party a very memorable occasion for us. We have hundreds of pictures and videos of people dancing away, it was awesome! If you're thinking of complimenting your party, gathering or celebration with a Saxophonist, Mark is certainly your guy! We are going to book him again for our Daughter's 21st. Thanks again Mark and see you soon! "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"The band was perfect in all the management of the music in the different locations within the party's venue. they are all very nice and the show is fantastic. We especially appreciated the music of the 50s/60s, and twist and rock and roll. the guests all danced, without exception. Thanks Contrabbandiati"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We cannot thank Mark enough for performing at our wedding, he was absolutely amazing and everyone loved it! Excellent music and all round nice guy! Definitely recommend, worth every penny! Xx (10 / 10)"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Mark was on time, professional, friendly, full of energy and genuinely made my best friends hen party an absolute blast. Mark is extremely talented and played to the perfect songs at the right times! I would absolutely recommend Mark to anyone to make any event special and memorable. (10 / 10) "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you so so much, you made the day! A total surprise for the bride and an explosion of joy."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Deep Down Brass are the ultimate crowd pleaser! They are an absolute hit with everyone and got our customers dancing every night over the festive period. Couldn’t recommend them enough - they are our 'go to’ for entertainment."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"So tight! So talented! Amazing performers with impeccable choice in both wonderfully well written originals and stunning covers of crowd pleasing favourites. One of my favourite bands I've ever seen! "

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Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

" All Music Review Thom Jurek The title of this set is an apt one. While much of the music presented by the Rick Holland-Evan Dobbins Little Big Band, it hearkens back -- in terms of its sophistication, confidence and outright jazz literacy, not nostalgically -- to an era when progressive jazz, and big bands (this one numbering 10 pieces) flourished on the scene. This is one sophisticated outfit. Featuring the arrangement and compositional skills of Brent Wallarab, Jim Martin, Bill Dobbins and Kerry Strayer, this band struts out the tradition and make some joyous, complex, and elegant music that reflects its own unique identity. The résumés of all these players are impressive and reflected in the confidence of the date. It opens with "SUNY-Triangle," a Martin composition that works its artful sleight-of-hand over Antonio Carlos Jobim's "Triste." Martin uses the rhythmically complex samba and drapes some tough, knotty twists and turns over it. The intro is a beautiful and raucous wake-up call, while the head of the tune, with its staggered entrances and exits -- including some fine soloing by John Viavattine on tenor and John Nyerges on piano -- give this tune a unique identity. "Creature Comfort" is a beautiful mid-tempo ballad by Wallarab with edgeless yet multi-dimensional dissonances written into its harmonics. It swings beautifully and includes a fine, punchy solo by tenorman Glenn Cashman. Besides the originals, there are some fine readings here as well. There's Wallarab's arrangement of Duke Ellington's "Black and Tan Fantasy" that's a thoroughly modern exercise losing none of Ellington's humor or rhythmic complexity. Likewise, Gerry Mulligan's haunting, wee-hours, "Night Lights," is given expert treatment here by Strayer, and Dean Keller's baritone saxophone playing combines Mulligan's sense of lyric and Ben Webster's sense of time. In Time's Shadow reveals that innovation need not sacrifice accessibility or swing. It is convincing evidence that the big band form is alive, well and full of surprises."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"We couldn't have been more delighted with Hot Shoes performance, the dance floor was packed from the moment they started and stayed that way for the whole set!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Since 2011, the band has a new focus. First, it is commissioning the legendary Bill Dobbins, to write sample arrangements from his famous “Evolution of Jazz Piano”, a series of movements based on the tune “All of Me”. Secondly, is breaking in it’s new vocalist, 19 year old sensation, Lindsey Holland. The band currently has over 60 arrangements for her to sing, including selections from Nancy Wilson’s disc with Cannonball Adderley. Furthermore, we have a Christmas Set now for her to sing, as well as many straight ahead jazz standards. The hope is for this group to record both of these projects sometime in the future."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Mark came and played for my wife's 60th birthday garden party and was fantastic. He is a really easy going guy who ensures everyone is enjoying his music and was great to deal with. He changed his play set to 3x30mins rather than the 2x45mins as we had to contend with the weather but that didn't stop a great sax performance. Many of our guests have asked for his details to book him in the future. Left the play list to him with some basic theme i.e Ibiza white party and he was spot on! If you book him you wont be disappointed!!!! "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: