Review Centre: Violinists / Fiddlers

"Jools composed and remotely recorded violin sections for 3 of my tracks: Just For a Day; Roman 7; Boneyard. The tracks have an American influence but would fall under the indie genre. Essentially, the remit for Jools was to 'bulk them out' with strings. Although I had not actually met Jools in person (and still haven't), he was extremely responsive when communicating via email and therefore didn't need to meet. Before agreeing, he encouraged me to listen to his back catalogue - I was impressed with the breadth and depth of genres that Jools had worked with and I was pleased to learn he had worked with a couple of acquaintances of mine- namely The Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra and Chris Tye. Listening to his work, I was impressed by his knack around texturising songs- in my experience, strings can sometimes feel isolated from the rest of the instrumentation and I am aware that some string players find this aspect of composition challenging. Throughout the process, Jools ensured he had a secure understanding around my expectations. This brought about discussion around dynamics, chord progression technique (tremolo, tied sections etc). Although he was happy to read from transcript, I felt that his take on composition would be much better than mine, so he kindly agreed to compose the parts himself. After recording the first version, he sent me recordings via YouTube- he even went to the trouble of including a running text commentary of his thoughts within the video itself. This meant that I could give better feedback and bounce off his ideas. I was especially amazed by the turnaround (3 days to complete the process) as I had not set any deadlines or ball-park timeframes. Jools' playing is technically perfect and he has an exceptional ear for harmony and dynamics. e.g. He knew not to play for the sake of playing, and when to build to crescendo. He was able to add a range of chords, hooks and new melodies to the song. In Boneyard, the melody in the instrumental chorus ended up becoming the dominant hook- this was totally unplanned. Much like his violin playing, the overall recording quality was very professional. If you are looking for an outstanding string player who is both technical and visionary, Jools would be my number one recommendation."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Cuando decidí hacer una fiesta para mis amigos y familiares no quería que faltara ningún detalle y sin duda fue todo un acierto contar con María como violinista, una chica muy profesional, ofreció todo tipo de facilidades y con un gran repertorio de canciones para elegir, volvería a contar con ella sin duda!! Gracias "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Highlight of our Event Coal #9 was the highlight of our backyard party. From the initial booking onward working with the band was effortless. Communication was excellent throughout. The band had to adjust their setup for our backyard but adjusted on the fly and without any loss in performance or complaint. Our guests raved at the quality of their performance. Band members were friendly and warm and their presence added to the evenings ambiance. We are so thankful that we go Coal #9 to perform at our event and highly recommend you consider them for your event. Reviewer: George Ilse Event Date: October 8th, 2021 Services Provided: Acoustic Band, Americana Band, Bluegrass Band, Folk Band View messages Rating: 5 out of 5"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Michael and Steve provided beautiful ambience and exceptional musicianship to our wedding! Michaels responsiveness and flexibility made everything easy! Highly recommended!"

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"Outstanding, exactly what we wanted and more. Highly recommended."

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"Everything was perfect, couldn’t have asked for a better performance for our small wedding. "

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"I cannot recommend Hannah highly enough! A complete professional and so incredibly talented! Hannah played a selection of tunes as our guests arrived. She also played as I walked down the isle and as we left, after our ceremony. She offered an eclectic mix of songs from rock to dance and pop, as well as classical. Hannah was also happy to learning new pieces to make the music feel really personal. Hannah is such a lovely person and will work with you to make your moment everything you want it to be. Having Hannah play was one of the stand out moments of our day. We had so many wonderful comments from our guests about her beautiful playing. If you are considering booking her, don’t think twice. "

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"I had the opportunity to listen to Silvia' solo violin music on YouTube and i couldn't stop listening to her beautiful songs, and to share this experience I contacted her for a private event. The concert was so beautiful and we really appreciate it"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Thank you so much for your outstanding performance once again! As always, your delightful music and your concistent excellence and dedication, made our collaboration exceptional!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"He was awesome great skills had no problem at the event would love to do it again with him soon"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Michael did such beautiful work at our wedding ceremony and cocktail hour!! All of our guests are still talking about how amazing the music was. Right before my father walked me down the aisle, he said, "You can tell this musician has been playing for many many years" Michael is extremely professional and accommodating to work with. He is such a rare find, I would recommend him to anyone who is looking for elegance and sophistication at their wedding!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Michael was very pleasant and professional to work with. He played as part of a trio for our community's Valentine's event and everyone was impressed by his talent. The music was beautiful and complimented the ambiance of the event perfectly! I highly recommend Michael Shingo Crawford!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Kabelo's performance at our wedding was nothing short of magical. His exquisite violin playing added an ethereal quality to our special day. The way he seamlessly transitioned between classical pieces and contemporary love songs kept our guests mesmerized. Many of them commented on how his music set the perfect romantic atmosphere. We couldn't have asked for a more talented and professional musician. Thank you, Kabelo, for making our wedding unforgettable!"

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"Incredible players and well done! We enjoyed the Concert!!"

Reply by Classical, pop, rock music
Thank you! I enjoyed Playing for you!

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review:

"From the first moment, we were delighted with their music and repertoire. We are delighted with the final result on our day, and the guests were surprised by the talent and demeanor they exude. They also got very involved during the preparation, providing advice and improvements to make everything perfect. Thank you very much for making our day even more magical. It was a success to have you and we would love to listen to you again whenever we can."

Rating: 10 / 10 Share this review: