London Jazz Diary

Hi everyone, here’s a promo vid for the jazz festival at Ora restaurant, come on down!

City Jazz Festival @ Ora Restaurant

It gives us great pleasure to announce our upcoming jazz festival at Ora Restaurant, the brand new Thai dining experience in the very heart of London. Each week we will be featuring the finest selection of our jazz musicians, drawn from our top pool of London jazz musicians and instrumentalists.

Head chef Tamas Khan has created a special three-course menu of innovative Thai dishes for the ORA Jazz Festival, on offer for four consecutive Sundays (20th and 27th March and 3rd and 10th April) from 6:30pm-10:30pm. With three-courses for just £25 per person and the chance to hear some of the finest live jazz in the capital it offers incredible value for money.

Jazz Schedule

For the City Jazz residency at Ora, Sam has invited one or more guests to accompany him each week, playing a mix of jazz standards in both classic and contemporary style, the perfect compliment to the dining experience.

March 20th – Sam Sharp / Liz Cass / Esben Tjalve
March 27th – Sam Sharp / George Moore
April 3rd – Sam Sharp / Kristian Borring 
April 10th – Sam Sharp / Brendan Dowse

Location
6 Little Portland St London W1W 7JE
Tube: Oxford Circus
Tel: 020 7637 0125
www.ora-restaurant.co.uk

Read the rest of this entry →

Greetings one and all, and a very jazzy new year to all of our clients, here’s to a top 2011 all round!

We had a fantastic 2010, providing jazz bands for all of our clients in London and beyond, including the usual mix of weddings, corporate events, birthday parties, retail launches, awards ceremonies, the list goes on and on…

Upcoming Seasonal Events BOOKING NOW!

Valentine’s Day, February 14th

What could be more romantic than hiring your own personal jazz band for valentine’s day? Perhaps you are having a private party in your own home, or you’re a venue looking to jazz up your valentine’s day event with some smart and sophisticated jazz music? Our London bases jazz singers and jazz bands are highly experienced playing romantic settings, and we still have some availability so please get in touch!

The Royal Wedding, 29th April

Are you having a street party for the royal wedding? Look no further than City Jazz, THE place to book jazz bands throughout London. We provide a whole range of different ensembles, including marching bands and dixie style bands for your event, so celebrate the Royal Wedding in style, and get in touch to hire one of our jazz bands!

Get In Touch

Contact Sam at City Jazz on 0208 123 0103 or 07968 1734 88. Alternatively you can email us on info@cityjazz.co.uk, and to find out more and listen to audio samples, visit www.cityjazz.co.uk today!

City Jazz are delighted to announce a brand new special offer this party season!

We’ve teamed up with our favourite London wine shop, Bottle Apostle, to offer you a complimentary bottle of champagne when you book your jazz band*, as an extra enticement for new customers, and to reward our repeat clients for their loyalty!

This isn’t any old bottle of pop either, on confirmation of your booking, you will immediately be sent a bottle of Gallimard Brut Cuvee de Reserve Non-Vintage, which is “A small grower’s champagne of the highest quality. A lovely classic restrained, elegantly fruity style. Made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes.” Need we say more? Please also note there is a bottle going for every booking you make, so if planning multiple bookings for your London Jazz Bands this season, you really could improve your cellar here folks!

For more information on the high quality London-based jazz bands and jazz singers we offer at City Jazz, don’t forget to visit our website here: www.cityjazz.co.uk, email us on info@cityjazz.co.uk or call us right now on 020 8806 7146.

For more information on wine shop Bottle Apostle, please visit www.bottleapostle.com

*Please note this offer only applies to new bookings confirmed between 25th October and 31st December 2010

Just thought I’d share a little feedback from a recent event.

Here’s a letter from Chris, a high-end events client, who got in touch following our performance at a diamond sales event in Mayfair. We provided the jazz trio for this event, consisting of sax, double bass and piano, and the venue had a beautiful grand piano tuned just before we went on stage – a rare treat!

Here’s also a little snap of the jewellery on show, taken with my phone, not to be sniffed at certainly!

This was a high pressure event for a demanding events client, organised at relatively short notice. If you’re interested in any of our London Jazz Bands, don’t hesitate to get in touch… www.cityjazz.co.uk

We recently performed at the square mile summer party to great acclaim, little did we know that the party would be featured on Sky News, Radio 4 and in the Daily Mail!

Apparently the event caused some controversy in the press, as it was associated with City workers rewarding themselves too much in tough times. We couldn’t possibly comment either way! Read more here:

http://www.squaremile.com/news/7390/Square-Mile-Party-Provokes-Public-Outrage.html

Back to the music: we performed as two separate jazz ensembles on the night itself. First off was the City Jazz Trio featuring guitar (pictured above). This is a very popular choice from our roster of London jazz bands, the jazz guitar not only is a sophisticated and classy option, but also has a lovely bluesy and breezy touch for the summer. This went down very well with the punters, despite a couple of heckles from over-champagned traders!

To listen to samples of all of our instrumental jazz musicians, visit the “listen” section of the City Jazz website here: http://www.cityjazz.co.uk/default.asp?contentID=507

Next up was the City Jazz Trio featuring the fantastic Brendan on vocals. Brendan is a truly talented chap, as he plays jazz piano and sings at the same time, a la Jamie Cullum, and so is not only a fabulous quality offering from a musical point of view, but also represents fantastic value. If you’re looking to hire a London jazz band featuring subtle vocals, that can work for atmospheric or dancing purposes, then look no further!

To listen to samples of all of our London based jazz singers, visit the “vocal groups” section of the City Jazz website here: http://www.cityjazz.co.uk/default.asp?contentID=512

So there we go another satisfied client, and more happy punters. And we kept our clothes on, unlike some of the performers later on! Please get in touch if you’d like a quote, and you can find out more about our top London jazz agency here: http://www.cityjazz.co.uk

Here’s another quick news update for our London jazz bands this summer, read on for a summary of our highlights over the last month or so…

First off, a quick name drop. We performed jazz recently at the London launch party of the new Jaguar car range, and were delighted when none other than Harry Redknapp popped down to lend his support, here he is pictured with the managing director of Jaguar UK, Geoff Cousins…

You can see our jazz musicians in the background, we performed as the full instrumental jazz quartet of saxophone, piano, double bass and drums, for this repeat client, and the show room was in Mayfair in central London. We loved the ice sculpture of the new Jaguar car too!

LISTEN to this jazz band right NOW! All of our London based jazz bands can be heard here:
http://www.cityjazz.co.uk/default.asp?contentID=507

Another instrumental jazz group was hired by a top London legal firm to celebrate their purchase of a new headquarters in the heart of the City Of London. To match their budget and space requirements, this time the client opted for the City Jazz Duo, featuring guitar and sax, and we entertained the executives who had flown in from all around the world. As you can see from the picture we snapped below, the views from the terrace on the top floor were simply stunning, and we have been assured we will be invited back for more atmospheric jazz music in the future!

Talking of repeat clients, you need look no further than the good folk at AT & T for a prime example, who book us at least 2 times a year, whenever they need jazz for their London based corporate events. In fact they seem to book bigger jazz ensembles every time, which obviously receives no complaints from us! As can be seen above, we were playing our jazz outside in the garden at the Royal Horse Guards Hotel in central London, and thankfully the weather held out for the jazz, barbecue and drinks party. The choice of jazz musicians? The full City Jazz Quintet featuring the incredible Elizabeth on lead vocals, singing classic jazz standards as the sun set over this intimate setting.

Need more information or samples? Don’t forget to visit the main City Jazz site, where you can book a top London Jazz Band RIGHT NOW! Jazz Link: www.cityjazz.co.uk

So far the summer has been very kind to everyone here at City Jazz, our top London jazz bands have played at a whole range of fantastic events in London and beyond!

Special mention has to go to a couple of our favourite venues that we have visited again this year, namely Kensington Roof Gardens, and Corney and Barrow in Paternoster Square. As you can see from the pictures below, these venues are simply stunning! First off we played jazz for a Bar Mitzvah in Kensington, with the client opting for the City Jazz Trio, our most popular jazz combo for corporate functions in London. This group featured saxophone, guitar and bass, and was the ideal choice for atmospheric jazz music for this high end event in West London.

For more information and audio samples of our jazz trios and other london-based jazz instrumental groups, visit the City Jazz website here:
http://www.cityjazz.co.uk/default.asp?contentID=507

As for our jazz gig at Paternoster Square, this was another top notch corporate event that required some uplifting jazz to get the party started in style. A jazz quartet was the order of the day, which featured the amazing female jazz vocals of Elizabeth, one of London’s finest jazz singers. Paternoster Square is a fantastic modern development right next to St Paul’s Cathedral, and the Corney and Barrow bar has stunning views, the perfect setting for jazz singer and accompanying band. This was a great night for a corporate summer party, and the DJ after us ensured dancing and drinking went on until the early hours!

For more information on our London-based jazz singers, visit the City Jazz link below:
http://www.cityjazz.co.uk/default.asp?contentID=512

That’s it for now, expect more news over the summer, and don’t forget to visit our main website to book a London jazz band, our jazz bands are available to be booked, right now, just give us a call: www.cityjazzz.co.uk

Greetings, and hello to all of our City Jazz clients from the beginning of the year, through spring, and now as we launch full ahead into the summer. We’ve been completely maxed out as ever, serving London with a steady flow of fresh jazz music for birthdays, weddings and corporate dos.

A massive congratulations to all of our jazz wedding clients so far this year. There’s nothing like the sound of swinging London jazz band to get things going, and we’ve been all over the place, including Burhill Golf Club, Carvasso’s in Chiswick, The Mandarin Oriental and a number of private residencies.

We’ve also had a real mix of corporate and private functions and events, including retirement parties on the Thames, and for a member the RMT rail union (Bob Crowe is now our biggest fan!) in a pub in Euston. In addition, our London jazz musicians have played at many corporate conferences and award ceremonies, including venues such as The Dorchester, The Millenium Hotel, The Royal Garden Hotel Kensington, and the Winchester Club in Putney.

We love playing for shop launches, and were delighted to be invited to the Conran store in Chelsea to launch their summer season, despite most of the shop being out of the average jazz musician’s price range! Ikea is normally our first port of call! I have to say though, Conran had some simply beautiful things and sales seemed to be buoyed by our atmospheric jazz performances, in what is a stunning building in West London. They opted for the jazz trio featuring sax, guitar and double bass, and we have promised repeat bookings in the future after the success of this event.

You can here samples of our instrumental London Jazz Musicians here:
http://www.cityjazz.co.uk/default.asp?contentID=507

Our final thanks go to our charitable events of the year so far, including a James Bond themed ball in London Bridge for Leukaemia Research, and the launch of a new Children’s centre in West London. We often provided a reduced rate for charity balls and functions in London, so if it’s jazz you’re after for your fundraiser, please do get in touch! The Casino Royale theme featured smooth yet sassy vocals from Elizabeth.

You can here samples of our London Jazz Singers here:
http://www.cityjazz.co.uk/default.asp?contentID=512

That’s all for now, back to our busy schedule of jazz events over the summer. Thank again to all of our clients so far in 2010, here’s to a continued prosperous year of Jazz in London!

If you like what see and hear, please do get in touch!
http://www.cityjazz.co.uk/

Here are some of the highlights from December, one of our busiest ever festive periods!

Wedding Jazz In Battersea

As is often the case, the trained musicians of City Jazz found themselves entertaining the punters at a wedding reception in central London, providing wedding jazz of the highest order! The client opted for the trio featuring sax, piano and bass, with a special request of “Can’t Smile By You” from Barry Manilow – an unusual one for the London jazz band, but performed within the best possible taste! The venue was this beautiful pub in Battersea (see above), the duchess, and we played during drinks / canapes, and during the wedding breakfast. This is a common choice for subtle and sophisticated jazz for a London wedding recepetion band.
If you’d like to hear the City jazz Trio feat. Piano, check it out HERE

Christmas Party Jazz in Central London

Another hectic period for your festive party jazz! Following on from the other jazz gigs mentioned on this blog, we started off at the White Hart in Barnes for a luxury fashion good company. A lovely Youngs  Brewery pub with a view of the river, we did a 20s jazz set with sax, stride piano and 20s jazz vocals from Emilia Martensson, a fabulous jazz singer on our books. The theme was jazz gangsters, and the party went very well, as the client put it

“Just to say how great you all were on Friday. Matched what we were after perfectly. Thank you so much!”

You can here more of our London-based vocal jazz HERE

Other Christmas party music provided by us included corporate party jazz out in Surrey at the stunning Addington Palace, more gigs at Canary Wharf playing jazz Christmas Carols, and office party jazz for Channels Design shop in Chelsea, BT at the BT Tower again, and AT&T at the Royal Automobile Club. Picture highlights below…

Very Special Wedding Jazz…

One final special mention must go the the wedding we did at Penhurst Palace out in Kent. As you can see the setting and venue were simply gorgeous, including an open fire in the middle of the first hall we played in (see above). This was a good example of how we can provide different jazz bands at different stages of your wedding. We started off with the City Jazz Trio featuring sax, piano and bass to accompany the initial wedding reception with drinks and canapes – mulled wine here aplenty! Then for the evening do in the marque we did a full jazz quintet featuring vocals, sax, bass, drums and piano.

A fantastic day had by all, and here’s wishing all of our clients a very jazzy Christmas for 2009!

To find out more general information on our top London Jazz Bands, please visit:
www.cityjazz.co.uk