Cliveden House Guitarist Wedding Party Band Big Mama Funk

A Busy Christmas

Okay, so it’s nearly the end of January and now we have got a little bit of time to look back at what the bands got up to at Christmas and New Year.  It was an incredibly busy time and it quite nice to have a little bit of respite before the year gets really busy again.

So, Jazz Juice has been performing at Cliveden House for the last seven years, and it is always a privilege to do so.  The venue is simply exquisite and there is always a sense of occasion when you drive up the wide and perfectly manicured driveway up to the Luxury Hotel.  This year a duo of guitar and saxophone was required to play on Christmas Day and returned on Boxing Day which was then accompanied by a five-piece party band called, “Big Mama Funk” in the evening for dancing and celebration into the wee small hours.

vocal and guitar duo Surrey party band

The following day the Jazz Juice duo was booked last minute to save a wedding!  The happy couple were certainly unimpressed when we heard from them because they had several bands let them down, however they were a lot happier after they got in touch with myself, as I was able to fix this Duo for their reception and evening party.  It went down incredibly well and there were very, very happy with how everything panned out in the end. Happy Couple Wedding Surrey Band Party Duovocal and guitar duo Surrey party band

Forty eight hours after that, Jazz Juice were back at Cliveden for another wedding.  This included our pianist playing during the ceremony and an evening trio playing Jazz and Up-tempo party standards.  So the guests could initially relax and then be encouraged to get their grove on.  This was followed by our DJ who saw the night out and the early morning in with pop and dance hits that kept the guests asking and wanting more.

Cliveden House wedding music DJ party band

The next time we were back at Cliveden House was New Year’s Eve were a trio consisting of piano, saxophone and double bass performed and saw the New Year in up until another DJ took over after us.  It was not long until we were back again New Year’s Day so the band performing for seven hours in total!  We were the entertainment and atmosphere makers for brunch and dinner, and that concluded our Christmas period this year.

It was thoroughly exciting and very, very humbling to be a part of such an incredible organisation delivering unrivalled quality to discerning guests.  It gives me great pride to work with such a partner and I relished the opportunity.

Variety is the Spice of Life

Over the last few weeks I have been doing a great deal of different types of work, each with different responsibilities. It has been a real thrill too, because I feel like I’ve succeeded in doing a good job with each of the challenges in front of me – particularly with the time I’ve had to prepare – and that gives me the sort of buzz I am looking for.

Since playing in Grease at the New Theatre in Oxford, I’ve spent quite a bit of time with the Denmark Street Big Band, playing three gigs with two of them being a bit of a trek, including ventures to Inverness (at the castle where Madonna got married), and to Great Yarmouth to play in a Big Band festival. All three gigs were fantastic fun with material ranging from Glenn Miller to Sinatra, Buble, and Basie, as well as two shows dedicated to the work of Bobby Darin.

I had the privilege to be able to play solo at my brother’s wedding, and also as a special part of his wedding speech, a solo gig for Team GB Triathlete, plus a jazz performance with my quartet to relaunch a stately home/hotel for DeVere Hotels.

Things are fairly relentless at the moment with final rehearsals on Monday for this year’s Live at the Rose event, as well as an Irish-themed recording session coming up where I need to get the mandolin out. Coupled with new ukulele and bass students it’s a very busy time!

‘Ain’t Nobody’, like Floorfillers!

Today was quite an exciting day. I received the mixed versions of some recordings that I’d done with one of the function bands I work with. The band is called Floorfillers, and we play quite a few contemporary tunes, as well as Disco and Motown classics. For your delectation I’ve uploaded one of the tunes we did – Chaka Khan’s ‘Ain’t Nobody’. You can listen to it on my homepage, or here.

The recording process of this was quite interesting, since the drums were recorded in one take(!) in a studio in Milton Keynes, and then bass, keys and my guitar were recorded by their respective players in their own homes. After a few emails it all came together back in Milton Keynes where the vocals and BVs were laid down before mixing.

If you need a band for your party, look no further than Floorfillers!