Backstage with Midnight Blue Jazz Band aboard The Salient

The summer of 2013 was very busy for us and it was nice to catch one last pleasant evening aboard the Salient Cruise boat – Central London, before we waved goodbye to the weather!

The mood was fun with the MD of Bridgebank Capital joining us on guitar for an impromptu jam!

Playing with Midnight Blue is never dull from start to finish. We get to enjoy playing music that we love in hundreds of different settings, all over the country and abroad, in venues ranging from old war ships, hotels, country mansions, film sets, to river cruise boats like the Salient.

We boarded before the guests arrived for their corporate event, at Festival Pier on the Thames – perfect for us as it meant one easy train journey to Waterloo station – a rare luxury compared with the mileage we can rack up on busy summer weekends!

We set up in a corner – our brief was to provide sophisticated background jazz whilst the guests were served cocktails.

The Thames was particularly “choppy” and so myself and our sax player opted for the slightly less nauseating sit down approach, whilst our double bassist, was thrown around, clutching his bass for balance!

We were booked to play 3 x 40 minute sets – a popular choice amongst clients – and kicked off the first set with a collection of upbeat jazz standards and pop tunes, including our favourite crowd-pleaser – Teen Spirit by Nirvana. Have a listen to the clip on our Function Central profile page to hear our chilled out jazz/bossa arrangement.

In our breaks we were treated to amazing views of iconic London landmarks including the Thames Barrier.

And then later on... the Millennium Dome/O2 Arena

Towards the end of the evening, drinks were flowing and the mood was fun with the MD of Bridgebank Capital joining us on guitar for an impromptu jam! Tracks by Santana, Clapton and John Mayer went down a storm with his employees! This was a highlight of the evening and we love it when clients want to get involved!

Overall, we had a great night with the guests and employees of Bridgebank Capital. We hope to be back on another boat cruise soon as it was so much fun! We concluded our evening with a ritual that is becoming a frequent tradition – a late night curry in Surbiton.