Fifth Avenue Orchestras and Entertainment

We had the 10 piece Studio Band and were blown away by how great they were. We had specific rules on no silly interactive dances and didn't hear one all night. They kept the crowd dancing until the end, even the older folks loved them. Our band leader/mc Billy was awesome, he was very professional and not cheesy at all. We were so happy with our choice.

We were referred to them from by the Ritz Carlton and they were FANTASTIC. We had the 10 piece Studio and worth the fee! We couldn't imagine having a DJ since we both love live music.

We had a 7-piece band for our reception, and they were fantastic! I can't count the number of guests who commented on what a great band we had. Everything was really well planned out ahead of time, which made for a smooth party. The band leader was great, and they had all of our guests (both young-ish and old) up and dancing the whole night. Highly recommend.

We had the 7-piece Marquis Band and they were excellent! We first signed up with Fifth Avenue when Jack Bielan was at the helm. Unfortunately, he retired before our wedding could take place. Luckily, he handed the reigns over to a competent and helpful person, George, who handled our wedding in a professional manner. He understood my original trepidation at dealing with someone new and made sure that we were satisfied with the final schedule. In addition, the band itself was very good! We heard many comments later from friends and family about how great the band was and I couldn't agree more.

We had the 8 piece studio band and they were phenomenal! We asked them to play jazz during dinner, and then dance music when dinner was over. As soon as our guests finished their dinner, the dance floor was PACKED. I kept looking out at the tables to see that no one was there. The band did such a great job of playing music that appealed to everyone, from our grandparents to our parents, to our young cousins. The female singer was all over the dance floor, letting people sing into the mic with her and dancing with our guests - it was so much fun!

Beyond that, when we asked 5th Avenue to provide the music for our ceremony, Jack was completely honest and told us that we would be better off using CDs given our music choices (Alison Krauss, U2, and the Allman Brothers) because no one could do those songs justice without having to pay a full band. We really appreciated his honesty, as his recommendation saved us quite a bit of money (that would have otherwise gone to his company).

If you're willing to splurge on a live band, I highly recommend that you contact Fifth Avenue.

Thanks for the heads up! Basedon this post and another glowing one on the Los Angeles theknot.com board, I went to the 5th Street offices.

Their website does NOT do them justice! Of course, I haven't actually used them yet, but so far I've interviewd three or four bands and they have definitely impressed me the most. I realize that might be a function of their having better recording equipment, or better editing, but I really think it's more than that.

Jack Bielan, the man in charge, gave me a lot of information in terms of:
-more technical, musical stuff. Basically, this guy knows his music inside and out, and I mean all the nitty gritty theory and instrumentalization, etc.
-he's very willing to share a lot of ideas about music and event planning, even though it was a first meeting and some other managers play things more close to the chest like they're afraid you'll steal some ideas and not come back. Jack's approach puts me more at ease because it shows he knows what he's doing and is confident.
-the horn section on his bands are incredible. When the sax solos came on my sister and I just turned to each other and nodded. It was clear the man knew his way around a sax.
-the singers vary, but I think there's something for everyone. Some people might want a softer, more delicate voice. Others might want someone gruffer with more body. I didn't love them all, but there's someone for everyone.
-the bands come in different sizes from 6-12, so whatever size you want they can do.
-very professional looking group, and they can do anything from suits or tuxes to white jackets.

This is the only band I've looked at that I feel the need to compliment on the Internet. I really want to stress that a lot of band websites are kind of bad compared to going to the studio and listening to CDs and watching DVDs, so give them a chance.