Most recent update:
07/07/2010
the Acoustic Flight dance band page
Live music at it's best
photos and sound clips below
Acoustic Flight is a band with an identity crisis.
Is Acoustic Flight a jazz band that plays funk/R&B/soul/rock?
- or -
Is Acoustic Flight a funk/R&B/rock band that plays jazz?
You will find a partial list of our tunes below. We are able to accommodate many different requests due to more than 500 tunes in our main library. You will get a flavour of the variety from this lists and I am always happy to take special requests. Events frequently include guest from young to not-so-young with their diverse musical interests. We do our best to please all musical tastes.
Acoustic Flight specializes in wedding receptions and corporate functions. We make the music easy for you!
If you are organizing a wedding, a corporate event, a convention or a private party, I work with you to make sure you get the great live music that your guests will enjoy. I can tailor the tunes to your specific needs. And, if you need a trio, quartet or quintet, I can provide the smaller groups as well - click on 'The Jazz Page' button to the left. Perhaps a trio as background to the dinner and then the dance band for the rest of the evening.
If you think that Acoustic Flight would suit your event, email me and I will send you a copy of our EPK [electronic promo kit] by return email.
Acoustic Flight consists of 5 horns and 4 rhythm plus vocals. We have 3 saxes, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone, guitar, piano, bass, drums and vocals and I can add a second trumpet for specific events. We provide our own sound system so we simply require sufficient space to set up. As part of our fee, I do a site visit to speak with the venue event coordinator and ensure that they are prepared for where the band will set up. We are aware of the timing pressures during wedding receptions, corporate functions and gala events and will accommodate the various issues that may arise. I also work with each client to ensure the music is just right for your event.
A few comments from clients:
"your band was exceptional and I absolutely loved it. I will for sure keep you in mind for future events" -S.A.
"It was a great pleasure having Acoustic Flight play at our wedding. Young and old were on the dance floor throughout the night, and our guests were very vocal about how much they enjoyed the music. The band, including a number of talented musicians and a superb female vocalist, played a great variety of very danceable music. They assisted in our music selection and took the time to visit the venue and work with the staff to ensure a good setup. They also accommodated our needs and requests throughout the night. We highly recommend Acoustic Flight for their great sound and energy." -C&J W.
"a fantastic band, you guys were tight and full of energy. Great fun to dance to."
NOTE: If you would like to be on the 'giglist' that I send out for our public gigs, email me and I'll add your email address so that you are notified as soon as gigs are firmed up. I only send such notices out for public gigs so you won't be bothered by unwanted emails.
Acoustic Flight played at the Cabana Supper Club, in January, May and June, 2009. This was in our non-jazz format with tunes by Tower Of Power, Average White Band, Blues Bros, Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, James Brown and...well you get the idea. I was a great night for dancing and for just having a good time for all our fans of this music.
Here's our tune list from these gigs:
We Came to Play - Green Onions - How Sweet It Is - My Guy - The Chicken - Old Time Rock & Roll - Vehicle - Knock on Wood - Mustang Sally - Go Daddy-O - Moondance - 25 or 6 to 4 - Heat Wave - Diggin' on James Brown - Jump Jive and Wail - Gorilla Man Blues - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
China Grove - Chameleon - Squib Cakes - I'm A Man - Pick Up The Pieces - Jumpin' Jack - The Letter - Saturday In The Park - Does Anybody Really Know - Soul Man - Rockin' Robin - King of Swing - Gimme Some Lovin' - I Feel Good - along with Here There and Everywhere and At Last, for ballads.
February 13, 2010 - 43rd Annual Osgoode Winter Carnival - Lion's Gourmet Dinner and Dance in Osgoode. The trio will play during dinner and Acoustic Flight will be playing for the dance. Tickets are $60 per person and can be obtained by contacting Steph at 'stephthegrillinggourmet@yahoo.ca or any member of the Osgoode Lion's Club.
Acoustic Flight performed as part of the Canada Day celebrations at Andrew Haydon Park in Ottawa in 2007 and again in 2008.
Acoustic Flight played for a dance gig at the New Bayou on Saturday, November, 2007. We had a great time as did the people dancing and listening to the band - with many great comments about the music.
Acoustic Flight played for the Ottawa Charity Ball Easter Seals Gala on November, 2007 at the Congress Centre.
The musicians in the band have been performing in many different formats and groups for years. Acoustic Flight also lends musicians to the other jazz formats that I have available - East Side Trio/Quartet/Quintet. As you will see on The Jazz Page we perform regularly in the smaller group formats. We can provide your live music all night long.
One of my objectives with Acoustic Flight is to perform great Canadian tunes and to this end I have commissioned arrangements specifically for the band. We have tunes by Joni Mitchell - Free Man in Paris and Raised on Robbery - as well as Sunny Days and One Fine Morning by the great Toronto band Lighthouse in our library. That is in addition to an expanding list of original tunes by band members.
We are based in Ottawa and will travel to venues up to some 150kms outside of the city.
I would be happy to discuss various details about booking Acoustic Flight such as our availability, repertoire and fees if you contact me. I am available at this email or by phone at 613-833-3509.
Below is a sample listing of tunes from our library. It would be easy to mix these up for a dance with both jazz standards and lots of more modern swing, rock, funk and pop tunes mixed in. This would create a great blend of tunes for wedding receptions where your guests have varied musical interests and would make an enjoyable evening for all. We always have a polkas, waltzes and other 'specialty' tunes in the book 'just in case'.
Jazz Standards and a few new jazz tunes:
String of Pearls
Tuxedo Junction
Moonlight Serenade
Don't Be That Way
Little Brown Jug
One O’clock Jump Pennsylvania 65000
Don’t get around much anymore
Fly me to the Moon
In the Mood
They can’t take that Away From Me
Ain't Misbehavin
Satin Doll
Take the A Train
So Rare
Georgia on my mind Sentimental Journey Mas Que Nada
Blue Tango
Jumpin’ at the Woodside
It had to be you
Blue Tango
It’s OK to Disagree
Looking At The Downside
Swing Street
Orilla del Mar
Mambo #5
Straight Talk
Short Stop
Pirouette
That Old Black Magic
Here are a few short mp3 clips of tunes that are in our book.
In order to respond to the enquiries about what we play, and since many people that I speak to about dances are not familiar with the tunes below, I thought that this would be a good way to provide a sampling of our repertoire. These are in addition to the many great old jazz swing tunes that most people are familiar with. These are the original recordings as credited below.
These are examples of the more contemporary styles that we play. Great for dancing or great to just listen to and enjoy. How can you not have a great time when you hear these tunes.
The CD's listed are all excellent and if you don't have them in your collection, I would encourage you to go out and buy them - support the bands that you hear.
From Gordon Goodwin's 'Big Phat Band' cd 'XXL', here is The Jazz Police
From Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's CD 'The Best Of', here is Go Daddy-O
Here is a short sample from the Average White Band tune Pick Up The Pieces
And from Tower of Power, here is a short except from Squib Cakes
Again, these are examples of what we add to our basic swing jazz list that will get your group up and dancing. At the least, we are sure there will be a lot of toe-tapping going on. The beat is infectious.
LIVE MUSIC IS BEST
Heat Wave China Grove Mercy Mercy Mercy Old Time Rock and Roll Jump Jive and Wail 25 or 6 to 4 My Guy Green Onions Under the Boardwalk Rock Around the Clock Moondance Pick Up The Pieces What Is Hip? Go Daddy-O Spinning Wheel How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You One Fine Morning King of Swing Birdland Soul Man Jazz Police Gorilla Man Blues Sunny Days Raised on Robbery Free Man In Paris Rockin Robin Mustang Sally Squib Cakes Diggin On James Brown We Came To Play Grazin' In The Grass Flip Flop Fly Saturday In The Park Soul Mine Cut The Cake At Last
Photos of Acoustic Flight at a gig at Chateau Montebello, Quebec, at Canada Day 2007 celebrations, at a reception Dec/07 and at a club gig.
at Chateau Montebello Andrew Haydon Park 2007 and 2008 a club gig
Acoustic Flight at the Bayou, January 2009
Recordings of Acoustic Flight: A couple of the following tunes were done during our outdoor concert at Andrew Haydon Park in Ottawa July 1, 2007. The sound was recorded on my mp3 recorder taking a feed straight off the mixing board and while the sound is not well balanced, I've got to give credit to the sound crew for the day headed up by Pat McWeeny of PM Event Services for doing their best after a very quick set up and without any sound check.
'Swing Street' was recorded live at a reception in Dec/07. 'How Sweet It Is' was recorded at a recent gig with Jocelyne MacDonald on vocals. 'Squib Cakes' and 'Pick Up The Pieces' are short excerpts from a recent live gig.
Squib Cakes - Acoustic Flight live
Pick Up The Pieces - Acoustic Flight live Here's an edited live version of The Letter
Birdland Mas Que Nada Green Onions How Sweet It Is
Swing Street - this tune features short solos by Rob Joanis [tenor sax] Jean Trudel [flugel] and Garnett Picot [guitar].
Here's a couple of great jazz tunes that we play: Brush Taps and Somewhere In September