We hired Nick from the Toronto Jazz Collective to perform solo jazz piano music at our wedding reception and he was fantastic. His performances really elevated our experience at the restaurant and he was also very friendly when we chatted with him during his breaks. As a fellow musician, I felt his sense of syncopation kept the room floating on a cloud. Thanks again!!

My wife and I weren't sure if we needed to hire live music, but are so glad we did, and even more glad we decided to book with Toronto Jazz Collective! It was incredibly easy to talk through different pricing options to ensure we got what we wanted for our wedding. They also agreed to add a couple of songs to their repertoire for the ceremony at our request. Most importantly, everything they played sounded incredible. They were even flexible enough to move their setup inside during a brief rain storm, keeping everyone entertained while they stayed dry. Our guests couldn't stop commenting on what a nice touch they added to the ceremony. Thank you TJC!

Chris at the Toronto Jazz Collective was professional and prompt and the jazz trio played the perfect music for our wedding. The pianist learned two new songs for us that I really wanted for the processional, and helped us come up with a good solution for Siman Tov. With fairly loose instructions on the type of music we wanted at our daytime wedding, they knew exactly what to play and everything went smoothly from the moment we contacted them until the very end. Would highly recommend!

TL;DR – We paid $3,600 for 45 minutes of play (contract was for 90 minutes) – the band knew they brought an incapable vocalist - we had to cut them short at our wedding – The guests complained that they were terrible and half the guests left our reception room during the first set.
///Preface///
My husband and I just had a wedding the past weekend at the Ritz Carlton. We worked very hard and saved a huge portion of our incomes just to make our dream hotel come true. We poured $200,000 into our savings and hours and hours and hours into this event to make sure we gave our guests an experience of a lifetime.

Toronto Jazz Collective were the last vendor I could possibly predict to ruin our wedding – I was wrong.
///Planning Stage///
I found Toronto Jazz Collective online. Their youtube videos with their performance looked fantastic. My planner wanted us to use a band that was more well-known and established in Toronto. However, I wanted to give these guys a chance. Against my planner’s wishes I contacted Toronto Jazz Collective.

The planning with them was far from ideal:
1. Josh Lane, the manager of the group was very pushy with deposits. He emailed us numerous times asking us to ‘pay by this day or else’. I brushed this off as over-enthusiastic sales.
2. The band said their gear was not compatible with our equipment so they charged another $800 for an AV technician bringing the total from $2,500 to $3,300
3. The band refused to play past 11pm. Given we invested so much on many different acts, even though the planner asked if they could even do 11:15pm they refused
4. The band demanded dinner which at the Ritz Carlton costed $50/person x 5 = $250 and valet at the hotel ($50/car)
I should have seen the signs but I just wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt.

///The day of the wedding///
I made sure the band was the main event and I hyped them up for all my friends and family. I made sure to give the Toronto Jazz Collective the room on a high – The room was buzzing as the dance troupe finished a fantastic act. Everyone sat in excitement as the band started their first song – which I made sure was also our first dance. The moment the vocalist started singing I knew I made a big mistake. The vocalist was not anyone I saw on the youtube videos or any of their marketing material. I wanted to cry. I stood up and looked into my husband’s eyes and put on my biggest smile for the cameras, but inside I died a little.

The next song was the same – quiet, painful, drawn-out. The vocalist just drowned away with the instruments. Out of courtesy my guests came out to dance with us for the second song. By the third song, the high, buzzing room went flat as half my guests left the room. As I sat at the head table watching the empty dance floor and half empty reception room, 4-5 guests came by to ask when the band would stop playing. Another ten minutes later my own mother came by to ask if we could cut the band short and go on with the cake-cutting so that her friends could go home because the music was making them sleepy.

I called my planner over and asked her if she could speak to the band to see what she could do to fix this situation. She came back to say ‘its been taken care of’ and the DJ continued to play the night. It turns out nothing was taken care of – The band demanded their money for the full set because it is what the contract.

///The Next Day////
I do not blame the Toronto Jazz Collective for asking for the full amount as per laid out on the contract.
However, I do blame them for bringing on a really incapable vocalist that was not up to the standards of their price tag. The performance was nowhere near what their youtube videos and online marketing showed. Based on my conversation below it became clear to me that this vocalist was new and that Josh Lane knew that the vocalist was to blame:
I called Josh to understand what happened and asked him truthfully (without mentioning the vocalist) if he felt the performance was up to his standards – if he “truly” felt the band brought their best that night. He himself replied with ‘the vocalist is not always the same as what is on our videos’. This statement proves that the general manager himself knew the vocalist was the reason I made that call.

///Conclusion///
I would not recommend this band to others as based on my experience they are not reliable and their performance is not dependable. Their performance ruined our $200,000 wedding and they still demanded full payment even though they knew themselves they brought an incapable vocalist.

The band cost us $3,600 for 45 minutes of play. They made more than I do working for a month in less than 45 minutes.

We chose the jazz trio and DJ package for our wedding, and we absolutely loved it all. Josh and the team are professional, talented, and so kind. I was nervous because we didn’t know how to articulate the kind of music we wanted, but more of the vibe we wanted. We didn’t give them much direction, but they didn’t need it because of their experience. They put our worries to ease. Our guests raved about the DJ and band. One of the best decisions we made for our wedding and would recommend them to anyone.

As wedding pros, we can't say enough good things about working with Toronto Jazz Collective! Their professionalism, talent, and the value for their quality of service is unmatched. We've experienced their music through soloists and duos on piano, guitar, vocals, etc. and have been so happy with every single experience. Their personable musicians have been a part of the vendor team at Pop-Up Chapel for quite some time, and always do an excellent job for hundreds of our couples. We trust them to the core for their consistency, reliability, beautiful sound, and friendly approach to weddings. Couldn't recommend TJC more, if you're looking for the right fit for live music on your special day, 100% give these guys a shout!

The TJC were epic! Josh was extremely easy to communicate with, both by email and phone. He was very responsive, and was willing to be flexible for the timings of the sets, which was tricky given how much we wanted to jam pack into our day - which included a number of planned interruptions (e.g. speeches, first dance, etc). We booked the string quartet for our ceremony and the jazz quartet (piano, drums, cello and saxophone) for the cocktail hour and reception. Most of the songs were decided beforehand - We were provided with a general list of songs to choose from but had the option to get the bands to learn extra songs (which we didn't end up using, since they knew all the songs we wanted, even those not already on their list) The string quartet played hauntingly beautiful music during our ceremony. The Jazz quartet really classed up the ambiance of our cocktail hour and reception. It made a huge difference to our guests! It rained during our wedding, which really affected our plans, but the TJC was able to easily adapt with little to no input from us, and that was key during the stressful time. I'm no professional musician, but I have played classical and pop piano for half my life and I appreciate that all the musicians that played at our wedding were extremely good. Strongly recommend the TJC!

Josh was amazing to work with. He was so accommodating and professional! The band was very talented. Having the live jazz trio made our day extra special!

My husband only had a few requests for our wedding, one of which was to have a live jazz band! The Toronto Jazz collective exceeded our expectations and provided such a wonderful ambiance for our guests during dinner. They were amazing and we would definitely recommend them!

I cannot recommend the TJC enough. I emailed them several months out from my wedding and they replied promptly with a number of wedding packages based on what I asked for, giving me a range of services and prices.

At no time did I feel any pressure to choose anything more than I was comfortable paying, and I think they actually ended up recommending a package that was in the middle of the range they offered. We ended up with a three piece ensemble for the ceremony and cocktail reception and a DJ for the dinner and dancing. Both were beyond excellent.

The ensemble had a selection of music to pick from and they even learned "Tale as Old As Time" from "Beauty and the Beast" as a special request for my wife!

DJ Duck was similarly awesome. He had no problem finding and playing our first dance song and he played a pretty excellent mix of music all night. I don't think the dance floor emptied out until we sent the last of our guests home.

Overall, we cannot thank them enough!