Review Centre: Keyboard Players

"Roger is an extremely talented pianist, he has been playing events for my hotel for over 15 years and never disappoints."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Rating 5/6 : Very Enjoyable Absolute Mayhem The Horse & Chains, Bushey on Saturday 30 September 2023 It's a rare thing to go into a local pub and hear a keyboard player who has been described as a musical "genius" by none other than David Bowie. This is no tall story either. The musician Billy Ritchie was the first player in rock music to give keyboards a prominent role -- and that was before Keith Emerson (ELP) and Rick Wakeman came on the scene. Billy told me that he remained good friends with the Thin White Duke until his death in 2016. Lanark-born Mr Ritchie now provides the skilful and fancy keyboards and records backing tracks for his latest incarnation Mayhem with talented female singer Carol Leslie. Carol is a really strong vocalist with a gutsy style. This dynamic duo started their first set at the cosy Sebright Arms with Elvis's late sixties' classic Suspicious Minds. The second song was a surprise -- Kirsty MacColl's comedy number There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop Swears His Elvis. It was a perfect choice after the first song. Carol and Billy select their material wisely and give their audience something very different from the predictable Mustang Sally, Brown Eyed Girl and I Saw Her Standing There, churned out by so many pub bands. So it was great to hear Georgio Moroder and Phil Oakey's electro smash Together In Electric Dreams, Matchbox's catchy rocker Rockabilly Rebel, Starship's uplifting We Built This City (on which Billy demonstrated his keyboard dexterity) and Solomon Burke's gospel-ish Cry To Me. And that was just the first half. Carol is happy to tackle songs usually associated with male vocalists and she started part two with a raucous version of Bryan Adams' rocker Summer Of 69. If you have never seen Mayhem, ask Billy to perform Light My Fire, the Doors rock classic from 1967. This was a sheer musical masterclass as he re-created both vocally and instrumentally this great song. Billy has a rich, tuneful voice and this was a stunning performance. Other highlights in the second half included Journey's rock anthem Don't Stop Believing, Carol's gritty interpretation if Shania Twain's Man I Feel Like A Woman and a fine performance of Bon Jovi's Living On A Prayer A total of 24 songs and I cannot wait to see this duo again. My only concern is their name. I think many club and pubgoers might think Mayhem are a heavy metal band rather than an all-round, top class duo. COLIN FENN, DJ, Freelance Journalist Colin Fenn, DJ - Freelance Journalist, Thursday 5 October 2023"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Stan accompanied my daughter in her Leaving Cert Music performance. He could not have been more supportive and kind. With perfect in sync playing from him she achieved a superb result. I would suggest Stan to anyone looking for an accompanist, his skill and live adaptability enhances any performance he is part of. Throughout the process he was easy to contact and a joy to work with. His professionalism and skill are first class!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Excellent. - Highly professional . Communicated well before and throughout the event. Great pianist. Would recommend"

Reply by Lounge pianist
Thankyou for the great review. I enjoyed playing for your event, Regards, Gina Hall

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Petra played a private event for me, she was incredibly professional, very pleasant to work with, and did an excellent job. You could not ask for more. I would not hesitate to hire her again"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"CJ is a wonderful man, let alone an amazing piano player/singer! I had the joy of having him be my youth/song leader in church. He made songs and music soo enjoyable! We would have fun dances with certain songs and it just made me so happy to go and see him every Wednesday night to see what he would be up to this week. Then, we went on to play together piano and flute duo on sunday mornings and he would get all my music together and we would practice and jutlst have a great time! If you have never seen him perform, it definitely needs to happen! He brings such a joy to everything and everyone needs to experience that in life. Thank you CJ for being you! "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Helen is such a lovely and talented lady!! She brought so much fun to my party by performing some cracking 80s tunes. She was incredibly accommodating with my song requests and threw herself into the spirit of the evening. Thank you SO much Helen for making the night so special 🤩!!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Vanessa. Thank you so much for last night. You were wonderful and set the right tone. Very professional and made the evening memorable. Well done."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Colonna sonora del tuo matrimonio Persona altamente professionale con collaboratori veramente straordinari, dal soprano al sassofonista al dj. Abbiamo collaborato a pieno con il Maestro Buzzi creando un'atmosfera per il nostro matrimonio veramente da favola con veri e sentiti complimenti da tutti gli ospiti. Lo consigliamo a tutti gli sposi"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Vanessa. Wow what a day. We would just like to say A Bigggg Thank You for making our day extra special. From the minute you arrived it was clear that our special day was going to be amazing. As soon as you set the piano up it transformed our marquee into a beautiful venue - my family and friends were amazed and they all commented on your singing and said my day could not have been any better - it was and I quote "one of the most beautiful wedding blessings they had been too". You even bought my husband and guests to tears singing my Song "you're my best friend". Thank you again for a fab day and I'll send a pic soon."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"john c. 5.0 Christmas Party Reviewed on: 12/20/2019 He was the perfect piano man for the Christmas party"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Paul was great! He was accommodating when we asked him to play a custom song for our wedding ceremony and his personal jazz music was perfect for our cocktail hour. He was quick to respond to our emails and was the most professional vendor we worked with, we highly recommend him!."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Highly recommended! We wholeheartedly recommend Paolo! Right from the start, he proved to be exceptionally competent, professional, and willing to fulfill any musical request. We chose the "solo piano" package for the ceremony and cocktail hour, followed by "piano and vocals" after lunch. The day had an extra magical touch thanks to the wonderful musical accompaniment. We left the song choices in Paolo's hands, simply giving him an idea of the overall atmosphere we wanted for the day, and it turned out splendid. Paolo was deeply professional and talented, the setlist was spot-on, and the singer was truly amazing. All of our guests were surprised and thrilled by the music, showering us with compliments!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thomas was a joy to work with. He played jazz from the 1950s and 60s. A real treat during our wedding reception. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Maya from the MayAlan Duo, spent time getting to know where each of our passions in music lay. From Madonna to Cinema Paradiso! From friendly, lively conversation about all sorts of things, it felt like we all together came up with music ideas that were very personal to us both. Just what you want on your wedding day! On the wedding day itself, the music was beautiful, their playing was superb. And they were totally professional. Our guests thought they were as talented and as likeable as we do."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: