The North London Music Academy

Chocolate Box Music are Proud Sponsors of Brand New Music Academy in Camden....


The Academy


The Academy creates musicians. Born out of a belief that music is for everyone and developed to challenge those who disagree. We strive to commit every music lesson to enhancing, inspiring and teaching the next generation of musicians. We teach according to individuals’ needs and desired outcomes, whether that be taking lessons as a recreational activity, passing music examinations or becoming a professional musician.


The company resides in a four storey building in the heart of Camden (London) complete with Grand Piano, Music Rooms, Dance Studios (for hire), Cafe and a state-of-the-art Recording Studio. Through its doors walk budding young musicians, aspiring singer/songwriters and rising stars. A hub of creativity, passion and ambition - the atmosphere is electric and inspiring; an infectious place to work, learn, teach and create.

Ensembles, bands, choirs and performance troupes are the catalysts behind the musical energy of The Academy. Regular concerts and gigs take students out of the classroom and onto the stage; performance (we believe) being at the heart of every musicians’ success. Unique to The Academy is our musicianship course, a syllabus we are championing as our piece-de-resistance - group classes which integrate an internal understanding and connection to music alongside the teaching of theoretical and technical knowledge. Those who graduate from this pioneering course will do so with the ability to understand everything they hear, compose, arrange and speak the language of music fluently.


The Academy has witnessed the inspired and passionate teaching of some of the country's most sought after musicians and nurtured many a young musician through their musical journey's. More than just providing an education, (albeit an education which challenges current preconceptions of the music institution), The Academy encourages an all-encompassing experience of the music industry. A world behind the doors of number 15 Pratt Mews where everyone is invited to connect, learn, teach, perform, write, create and succeed together.

Set to raise the bar in the world of musical education and set new bench marks, The Academy Team will stop at nothing to provide and achieve excellence. Expect great things from the knowledgeable, inspired and musical bunch who are driving their remarkable ethos forward.

myHotel Chelsea & Mellow Tones

One hotel, Two Musicians, Four Live Shows and countless champagne cocktails!


Our guitar and vocal acoustic duo, Mellow Tones, are certainly making their mark in Chelsea London. Their most recent appearance was met with rapturous applause as they glided effortlessly through repertoire made famous by the likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Norah Jones, Diana Krall and even Sheryl Crow and Lady Gaga!


The charming duo have established their monthly residency now at the charming boutique hotel known as "myhotel" in Chelsea and are raring to go for next months performance.


We urge you all to come join us next month to experience the sumptuous surroundings and tantalising tunes. In a city so hectic as London, where better to spend your evening than tucked away in one of the capital's best kept secrets and entertained by some of the country's finest musicians. 


The food and drink menu is to die for too but we're hardly connoisseurs, we'll leave that bit to you. 


However, we can guarantee outstanding entertainment... sensual, dynamic and professional. Not to be missed.


See you next month!

(Email for details and to guarantee your complimentary glass of champagne: chocolateboxmusic@live.co.uk)

Live Music Evening at Beautiful London Hotel

On Friday 11th February, the myHotel Chelsea in London plays host to an evening of live music courtesy of two fine musicians, Harriette Hale and Thomas Kay. The set lists includes classics made famous by the likes of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Eva Cassidy, Rod Stewart and even Lady Gaga! The acoustic guitar duo place a highly unique but sophisticated stamp on every song with bags of passion and creativity.

Harriette Hale is a classically trained musician and graduate of City University and the Guildhall School of Music, Harriette can be found all over London at songwriters showcases, jazz clubs, recording studios, private functions and classrooms, tutoring the next generation of musicians.

Now fluent in a wide range of genres, Harriette sings in various jazz bands and functions bands and also appears as a soloist performing her own material. She also plays tamborim and sings with samba band, Rhythms of the City.

Thomas Kay is not only a passionate musician and composer but a dedicated guitar teacher and mentor too. Brought up on a diet of jazz, opera and funk, his musical influences and disciplines span a wide array of genres.

A music graduate of City University and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Tom works as a freelance musician and guitar tutor in London and the surrounding counties.

As a musician he focuses on guitars and percussion but as a composer his boundaries are limitless. Inspired as much by people as he is by music, he creates a compassionate and motivational environment for others to work, learn and play.

The myHotel Chelsea is set in the heart of Chelsea’s Victorian architecture and regarded as one of the best located hotels in Chelsea. Myhotel Chelsea has been sensitively converted and designed by James Soane of Project Orange, from a five storey Police Station into a uniquely modern boutique Chelsea hotel. From the moment you are welcomed to this Chelsea hotel, elegant pleasures, personal attention and contemporary style await you. It’s vibrant atmosphere plays host to buffet breakfast, light lunching and late evening dinners. Serving excellent modern cuisine with a focus on fresh, seasonal produce which is the envy of other Chelsea hotels. Desserts will make your mouth water from fresh chocolate covered strawberries, to the more decadent chocolate mousse.

More info:

Thomas Kay: http://www.thomaskaymusic.com/

Harriette Hale: http://www.harriettehale.co.uk/

myHotel Chelsea: http://www.myhotels.com/my-hotel-chelsea/index.html

Mellow Tones (Chocolate Box Music): http://www.chocolateboxmusic.co.uk/

If you would like to join us at this wonderful event then please contact the hotel to make a reservation. Entry is free but seats are very popular and we'd hate for you to be disappointed! Certainly not a night to be missed! The music starts at 7.30pm.

For more information about the music, contact Harriette at Chocolate Box Music (info@chocolateboxmusic.co.uk). 

Hope to see you all there!

5 Great Tips (and one extra little one) for Haggling with Musicians

1. Food and Drink. 
Ladies, what’s the easiest way to a man’s heart? Be honest, it’s his stomach! Throw in a bit of grub and a few drinks for the band members and 9 times out of 10 you’ll be able to get a lower price. Plus, if you’re already providing nosh for your lovely guests then feeding a few more mouths is going to be much cheaper than forking out an extra £100 for your band. What’s more, a happy well fed band equals a happy well entertained audience!

2. Reduce the playing time. 
If you have the time to faf around with your ipod or mp3 player before the big day then do it because a band are more likely to charge less for playing two 45minute sets than they are for three and you can just put your ipod on in the break. Win win all round!

3. Reduce set up and travel headache. 
Reduce the stress for the band by scheduling the reception so that they don’t have to hang around for 2 hours before they start playing. Point out to them that they only need to be there 1 hour before they start playing to set up and can leave as soon as they’re finished and they will be much happier. Plus if you can guarantee a car parking space then that makes life much easier for them. A stressful gig is usually an expensive one. Muso’s like to be mollycoddled, bless em’ (they are mostly men), so do a little bit of extra work for them before hand and expect to pay much less. 

4. Photos. 
Planning to have a photographer at the wedding? Persuade him or her to get a few snaps of the band and throw it into your payment package. We’re all vain, we love the spotlight and the more photos we have of us doing what we love the better! So far we have nosh, a beer, a few free photos and a stress-free gig. Not bad going!

5. Finally, pay cash. 
If you can, pay the band in cash before they start playing. Cheeky little sods are always dodging the tax man so if you don’t mind helping them out in that respect then they won’t add on the roughly estimated 20% for tax reduction or VAT. Plus, paying beforehand means they’re much happier when they hit the first tune and they’re actually more likely to keep playing beyond the given time.

6. Oh whoops one more… 
May sound obvious but say thank you. A lot of the time, musicians get ignored so when someone makes the effort to say thank you it really makes our day! The more you gush about how amazing we are, the more amazing we will be and by this point you’ve already paid! Use the break between sets to butter them up and expect to party through the night!

For more tips and info about booking bands, please contact Harriette @ Chocolate Box Music. She’s lovely and happy to talk to you about any of your concerns. Catch her anytime on 07974 398929 or email info@chocolateboxmusic.co.uk.

A little bit of shameless self-promotion… our bands are the best, and the loveliest, and now we’ve given away all our secrets, we’re probably the cheapest! Check us out at www.chocolateboxmusic.co.uk. Coming to a wedding near you very soon!

We Continue To Grow...

The last few months have been extremely busy for Chocolate Box and our wonderful bunch of musicians.

We've recorded a live DVD of our favourite function band, FUNCNUT & Honey (they're practically royalty to us), secured a residency in one of London's finest boutique hotel's, myHotel Chelsea (in Chelsea), and exploded onto the London City party scene. Now we know what all the ever-so smart and sophisticated business men and women of London's financial district get up to after hours! Teeheehee!

Other big news... Our wonderful Samba band, Rhythms of the City, welcomed Brazilian superstar, Sergio Loroza, to perform with them at renowned Brazilian club, Guanabara in Holborn. But it's not all sparkle and fizz, this month our lovely bateria played for hours at various Race for Life events around London to support all the runners in aid of Cancer Research. Awww!

The London Jazz festival sees Chocolate Box's finest stars on London's biggest stages. Don't miss the opportunity to see Emma Smith, Emilia Martensson, The Hannes Riepler Quartet, BrassRoots Brass Band and The Henry Armburg Jennings band. And Chocolate Box aside for just a sec, the London Jazz festival plays host to some of the worlds biggest names and rising stars... Cleo Laine, Herbie Hancock, Natalie Williams, Esperanza Spalding, The Boxettes, Fran Landesman, Liane Carroll and Lea Delaria among many many more! Don't miss out!

http://www.londonjazzfestival.org.uk/

In other news, Chocolate Box looks set to start up a new junior branch for young musicians but it's all a bit hush bush for now. Keep your eyes and ears open :)

And finally, another push in the direction of festive entertainment... I know it's only November but mince pies are on the shelves and fluorescent Christmas trees are lighting up shop windows, so it's high time we all started thinking about the party season and who better to get the party started than our lovely bunch here at Chocolate Box?

Call today and see you all very soon!

xxx

All That Jazz

Article by Robert Ryan feat. in the Sunday Times Style Magazine:

A NEW BREED OF YOUNG JAZZ STARS HAVE THE RED-HOT TALENT AND A SUPER HIP LOOK TO MATCH. NO WONDER THE BIG FASHION BRANDS WANT IN ON THE ACT.

Every few years, the fashion industry stumbles across the alluring iconography of jazz. Think Bruce Weber channelling the young Chet Baker for Calvin Klein, or Ralph Lauren's reworking of Miles Davis's Ivy League period. Well, it's happening again, but this time with a more contemporary set of faces.

Banana Republic has turned to the extravagantly afro'd double-bass player Esperanza Spalding for an ad campaign; the hot young trumpeter Christian Scott played at the launch of David Beckham's Adidas range; and fellow horn player Chris Botti opened a Victoria Secret show.

Earlier this month, Prada debuted its autumn eyewear range in New York in a striking update of the sultry, smoky jazz club (see prada.com to watch the model Angela Lindvall "singing"). The singer Nina Hagen performed an acoustic set for guests, who lounged on plush velvet banquettes and supped Maker's Mark and soda, that classic Rat Pack-era poison. Mind you, Italian jazz never painted itself into the stylistic corner in which British jazz find itself - in Italy, as Miuccia Prada, a fan herself, well appreciates, jazz still attracts a young, cool, good-looking and well-heeled crowd.

Along with the updating of the sartorial elements, the sound of jazz is also changing. The latest crop of talent insists that the music they play is not in thrall to pas glories, nor does it need to have any set boundaries: soul, gospel, funk, folk, electronica, pop, hip-hop and even prog-rock are all being enthusiastically recruited under the banner of neo-jazz.

Take Krystle Warren, from Kansas City, Missouri, who now lives in Paris but is a regular performer in London. Even though she played her first professional gigs in Kansas jazz clubs "with a rose in my teeth and a slinky dress", her personal style is more "men's dress shoes, flared pants, cropped dreads under a newsie cap and, of course, a drink in hand. Whiskey, rocks", as the sleeve notes of her album put it. People still talk about the night she stunned a late-night audience at Ronnie Scott's club in Soho with an impromptu jazz-flecked version of Joni Mitchell's River.

On Radio 4's Great American Songbook recently, she put the pain back into the street-walking anthem Love for Sale, leaving more established jazz singers trailing open-mouthed in her wake. As she normally performs with only an acoustic guitar, some draw comparisons with Terry Callier, Tracy Chapman and Joan Armatrading, but the genre-blind Warren says: "To me, there is just music. We shouldn't worry too much about what other people call it." So she lists among her inspirations Kurt Elling, Rufus Wainwright, Nick Drake, the Beatles and even Jethro Tull: "I still have a thing about 6/8 time thanks to them."

Of her singular style, Warren insists: "This is not a 'look', it's not contrived. I go for comfort and I am drawn to vintage. Yes, it's masculine. I can, and do, wear a dress, but I always feel like a drag queen. Personally, I'd rather flick through GQ than Vogue; there's always a chance of spotting a nice tie."

Catch her live for passion, poise, quirkiness and great footwear.

Happy Birthday Chocolate Box Music!

Celebrating our first birthday has been something of a musical (and extremely busy) affair and a milestone in both my personal and professional life.

We started the weekend my moving to a posh new premises in Kentish Town:

58b Gaisford Street
Kentish Town
London
NW5 2EH

Then dashed straight back out to support one of our favourite bands, Rhythms of the City, playing live at Guanabara in Holborn. An adoring and appreciative audience was everything we needed to start the celebrations in style!

Sunday morning saw the samba crew entertaining the masses in Hyde Park and Enfield Festival (North London) also hosted Chocolate Box Musicians on their main stage as the headline act. Both very successful events.

So what does the next year bring?

Hopefully more music and more musicians. Chocolate Box will be out and about, scouting for talent around all the major London conservatories and prestigious live music venues, and musicians will be joining us by invitation only. We pride ourselves on the level of skill and musicianship of all our musicians and we are looking to raise the bar even higher this year.

Brand new marketing campaigns will be set in motion and we will be inviting a new member to join the office team. Look out for us online and in the local press.

We intend to make our bands more accessible to those who wish to book Chocolate Box Musicians so we will be hosting regular evenings in venues around London and inviting you to join us! A new studio manager also means all our bands and muso's will have the opportunity to record new material which means more music for you!

Even more exciting for the next generation of musicians is the launch of our very own music school. Funded by Chocolate Box Music, the new school will facilitate opportunities for children all over London wishing to learn music. We will be introducing private tuition in all instruments including voice and group tuition in the form of rock/pop bands, jazz bands, choirs and instrumental ensembles. Students will also have opportunities to perform regularly in venues around London and record tracks courtesy of our sister studio based in Camden.

More information coming soon so please keep checking back or subscribe to the blog.

On a personal note I would like to thank each and every one of the musicians, friends and family members who have helped and supported Chocolate Box over the last year. Without you we wouldn't be where we are today so from the bottom of my heart... thankyou!

Mike and Linda Hale, Thomas Kay, Alex Perret, Danny Sellings, Henry Armburg Jennings, Andrew Yeates, Josh Stadlen, Rob Sell, Edward Farmer, Jonny Wanders, Raph Hurwitz, Emilia Martensson, Patrick Davey, Adam King, Nat Steele, Leon Greening, James Hurrell, Simon Coles, Stefano Kalonaris, Billy Adamson, Graham Hughes, Stef Montague, Dave Holland, Ruth Young, Barak Schmool and the ever-expanding Samba family!

Here's to the next 12 months of musical madness and Chocolate Box fabulousness!