piano

30th November 2017 – Christmas Fashion Event at Ambers of Amersham – Piano Muic for the Evening

, , , , ,

Inside Amber's of Amersham
Inside Amber’s of Amersham

As I drove to wards Amersham the distinctive sight of “Ambers of Amersham” came into view and I’ve got to say that this was an event I was looking forward to. The last occasion that I played the piano here was a couple of years ago and I really enjoyed the event. To call Ambers a clothes shop would be the understatement of the decade. Ambers is a centre of fashion and beauty with three large rooms of fashion, a hair studio, a beauty salon, a resident tailor, a childrens clothing department and a restaurant.

It is usually the first event of the year where I get the chance to play all the old Christmas songs and Alistair (the owner) encourages me to play jazz and swing. To play the piano at Ambers is a job made in heaven as far as I’m concerned. Not only do I get the chance to play the music I love, but I always get treated incredibly well by the owner, Mark the manager and all the rest of the staff.

The evening went very quickly and it wasn’t long before I was packing up my baby grand piano shell and all my other equipment. It took me around forty minutes to pack everything up and pack it into the car. As I drove home into the darkness couldn’t help but feel a little bit sad that it was all over. Looking on the bright side they may book me for next year.

Christmas Tree at Ambers
Christmas Tree at Ambers

Here are the contact details of Ambers:

Ambers of Amersham
The Millstream,
London Road,
Amersham,
HP7 9DA

Tel: 01494 722471
Email: info@ambersofamersham.com
Web: ambersofamersham.com/

4th August 2017 – Wedding at Camden Place, Chislehurst, Kent – Vocals and Piano for Wedding Breakfast

, , , , , , , , , , ,

Wedding Car at Camden Place
Wedding Car at Camden Place

After my long drive from Nottingham to Chislehurst, Kent I was pleased to see the beautiful building of Cambden Place in front of me. This is the home of Chislehurst Golf Club and there were loads of people milling around. I found that the staff were very helpful, and having showed me where to set up, they carried on with their work. It didn’t take long before I had completely finished setting up all my equipment and I then took a short walk around Chislehurst Common. It was a lovely afternoon it was so nice to take in some air having spent so much time in the car over the last two days.

Camden Place, Chislehurst
Camden Place, Chislehurst

The purpose of my visit to this great venue was to play the piano for another wedding, but this time I was going to be joined by vocalist David Edwards. He sings all the old jazz standards as sung by the likes of Tony Bennet, Nat King Cole, as well as songs made famous by The Rat Pack. After returning from my walk David arrived and he was pleased to see that I had set everything up. He often uses his own equipment, but on this occasion we had arranged that he should use mine.

After a short wait everyone started to enter the room where the wedding breakfast was going to take place, and we immediately started performing. We had been hired to entertain the guests through the meal and both Sarah and Paul (bride and groom) were fans of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin’s music. At first we kept the volume fairy low, but our audience seemed to like the music and started to join in singing some of the songs. Everyone seemed very appreciative and the afternoon went by very quickly.

I always enjoy working with David and this was no exception. Playing the piano for this particular wedding was a really great way to spend an afternoon. Please make sure that you visit David’s website at https://www.loungejazz.co.uk/.

I hope that Sarah and Paul had a lovely day!

 

Contact Details of Camden Place

Address: Camden Place, Camden Park Road, Chislehurst, Kent BR7 5HJ
Telephone: 020 8467 2782
Email: enquiries@camden-place.co.uk
Web: www.camden-place.co.uk

8th July 2017 – Ascot Round Table at Mill Ride Golf and Country Club – Piano music during Lunch followed by a Cockney singalong

, , , , , ,

Cockney Singalong Pianist

It was around 10am when I drove slowly into the car park at Mill Ride Golf and Country Club. I was really early, but I’d much rather have time on my hands than be late. The event that I was playing the piano for was a meeting of Ascot Round Table and they wanted music through lunch followed by a Cockney singalong. Richard Audsley met me on arrival and he was pleased to see me so early. He was organising the event and my arrival was one less worry for him.

I played loads of jazz standards, as well as some more modern songs and I even played some classical piano pieces. I then changed my clothes and dressed in fully cockney attire (Bowler hat, waistcoat, Grandad shirt, pocket watch etc.) I then handed out the song sheets and played all the old London favourites including Lambeth walk, Daisy, Knees Up Mother Brown, Don’t Dilly Dally on the Way and quite a number of others. Everyone sang with great gusto and I really felt that everyone was enjoying themselves. Let’s face it, who doesn’t enjoy a good old sing song to a pianist playing that old honky-tonk piano.

At the end of the session I packed up my gear and song sheets as quickly as I could as I had to get to Eltham for a 90th birthday party. Please see my other blog HERE

This will close in 0 seconds