Hire Christopher Lydon, jazz piano | Pianist in Manchester

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From£290

1 hour

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Highlights (jazz) - Christopher Lydon, solo piano (Coombe Abbey)

Highlights (jazz) - Christopher Lydon, solo piano (Grand Hotel)

Highlights (jazz and easy listening) - Christopher Lydon, solo piano (Grand Hotel)

About Christopher

Jazz piano player based in Manchester. Performed all over the UK and Europe, playing jazz classics and fun takes on some unexpected tunes!

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Pianist

Manchester

Public liability insurance of £10 million

Verified profile

I've been playing jazz for over twenty years now. Swing, latin, bossa, ballads, showtunes, and music from film/TV. I've performed all over the UK and Europe, and love sharing jazz with everyone out there.

Christopher

5 out of 5

12 verified reviews

Satisfaction

5.0

Professionalism

5.0

Communication

4.6

Punctuality

5.0

Christopher's Reviews

5 out of 5

I contacted Chris at very short notice after I was let down by another performer. He replied to me very promptly and committed to performing at my function. On the day of the function, he turned up in plenty of time and set up well in advance of people arriving. His music was superb and really suited the function. Everyone said how much they enjoyed listening to his music, which was lively and upbeat. I would definitely recommend Chris to you, to perform at whatever function you are holding!!

Reply from Christopher

10 months ago

Thank you Mark! It was a lovely event to be playing at.

5 out of 5

Christopher added a touch of elegance and class to our Christmas wedding. He was punctual and an excellently talented musician who played all of the songs we requested from his repertoire. Thank you so much for adding to our special day and we would have him back again anytime!

Reply from Christopher

1 year ago

Thanks so much for your kind words. A pleasure to be part of your special day!

4.5 out of 5

We just wanted some background music for a 40th birthday party and Christopher did a 2 hour set. He arrived in plenty of time to set up, just got on with it without me having to worry about anything and gave a lovely performance without being too loud. He also learnt a song that my husband had requested.

5 out of 5

Excellent! Look no further if you are searching for a talented, versatile, sympathetic musician to enhance your event.

Reply from Christopher

2 years ago

Thank you, Chris! It was great to play for you and Jean at your anniversary celebration. Thanks for your kind words.

Read all 5 reviews

5 out of 5

Amazing! Thanks so much for providing brilliant music for my birthday party. Loved the variety - lots of my favourite jazz classics (and thanks for taking on learning the new one just for this event!) along with plenty of others that my friends and family really enjoyed. Thanks making everything run so smoothly and making the night one to remember!

5 out of 5

It's brilliant to have Chris on board, playing for patients, visitors and staff at Royal Derby Hospital as part of Air Arts music programme. A lovely variety of music - some classics, some that everyone knows and a few surprises in there too. Thanks so much for bringing music into the hospital when uplifting things are so needed, especially now!

Read all 7 reviews

Encore badges

Lightning fast responses

Average response time under 2 hours

5 gigs

Experienced: 5 bookings through Encore

Saved the day!

Booked for an Encore gig with less than 24 hours’ notice

8th Anniversary

This act has been working with Encore for over 8 years

Member of the Encore community forum

Christopher's Song list

~~~ Jazz standards ~~~

A Beautiful Friendship

A Fine Romance

A Night In Tunisia

A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square

Ain't Misbehavin'

Alice In Wonderland

All Blues

All Of Me

All The Things You Are

Almost Like Being In Love

Amazing Grace

Angel Eyes

Anthropology

Anything Goes

As Time Goes By

Autumn In New York

Autumn Leaves

Basin Street Blues

Beautiful Love

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

Beyond The Sea

Blue Bossa

Blue In Green

Blue Monk

Blue Moon

Blue Skies

Blues In The Closet

Body And Soul

Bonga Cha Cha Cha

Bring Me Sunshine

But Not For Me

Can't Help Falling In Love

Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man

Chameleon

Cheek to Cheek

Cold Duck Time

Cute

Daahoud

Days Of Wine And Roses

Dear Old Stockholm

Desafinado

Don't Get Around Much Anymore

Doxy

Dream

Earth Angel

East St. Louis Toodle-oo

Embraceable You

Feels So Good

Flight Of The Foo Birds

Fly Me To The Moon

For All We Know

Freddie Freeloader

Georgia On My Mind

Give Me The Simple Life

God Bless The Child

Have You Met Miss Jones

Here's That Rainy Day

How High The Moon

I Can't Get Started

I Could Write A Book

I Get A Kick Out Of You

I Got Rhythm

I Left My Heart In San Francisco

I Let A Song Go Out Of My Heart

I Wish I Knew (How It Would Feel To Be Free)

I'm Beginning To See The Light

I've Got The World On A String

I've Got You Under My Skin

Ikon (Memories Of Ike)

In A Mellow Tone

In A Sentimental Mood

In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning

Inchworm

Isn't It Romantic

It Don't Mean A Thing

It's Me, O Lord

Ja-Da

Joy Spring

Keep Young and Beautiful

La Bamba

Let's Face The Music And Dance

Li'l Darlin'

Libertango

Look For The Silver Lining

Look To The Sky

Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?)

Lucky Southern

Lullaby Of Birdland

Mack The Knife

Manhã de Carnaval

Memories Of Tomorrow

Midnight Train To Georgia

Misty

Moment's Notice

Mood Indigo

Moon River

Moonglow

Moonlight Becomes You

My Favourite Things

My Funny Valentine

Nardis

Night and Day

On The Sunny Side Of The Street

Portrait Of My Love

Saga Of Harrison Crabfeathers

Satin Doll

Serenade To A Cuckoo

Shadow Of Your Smile

Short Stop

Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

So What

Solar

Someday My Prince Will Come

Someone To Watch Over Me

Song For My Father

Sophisticated Lady

St Thomas

Stardust

Stars Fell On Alabama

Stella By Starlight

Strangers In The Night

Sugar

Summer Set

Summertime

Take Five

Take The 'A' Train

That Old Black Magic

That's All

The Duke

The Girl From Ipanema

The Man I Love

The Nearness Of You

The Way You Look Tonight

There Will Never Be Another You

They All Laughed

They Can't Take That Away From Me

This Little Light of Mine

Time After Time

Try A Little Tenderness

Up Jumped Spring

Wanderlust

Watermelon Man

Wave

What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?

What's New?

When I Fall In Love

When The Saints

Why Shouldn't I?

Yardbird Suite

Yesterdays

You Are My Sunshine

You Are Too Beautiful

You Do Something To Me

Young At Heart

~~~ Popular music ~~~

How Deep Is Your Love?

Just The Way You Are

Lean On Me

Make You Feel My Love

Moondance

Music To Watch Girls By

Pack Up Your Troubles Tipperary

Thunder Road

Turn The World Around

Unchained Melody

We'll Meet Again

What A Wonderful World

Yesterday

Your Song

~~~ Musical numbers ~~~

One Hand, One Heart

Over The Rainbow

Some Enchanted Evening

Somewhere

~~~ TV and film music ~~~

A Whole New World

Arabian Nights

Back To The Future

Beauty and the Beast

Can You Feel The Love Tonight

Chim Chim Cher-ee

DuckTales Theme

Everybody Wants To Be A Cat

Family Guy Theme

Force Field

Fraggle Rock Theme

Friend Like Me

Go The Distance

Gummi Bears Theme

I Can't Let You Throw Yourself Away

I Wanna Be Like You

In Summer

Inspector Gadget Theme

Love Is An Open Door

Meet the Flintstones

Monsters Inc

Part Of Your World

Pure Imagination

Red Dwarf Theme

Sesame Street Theme

Somewhere Out There

Super Mario World (Overworld)

The Bare Necessities

The Rainbow Connection

Under The Sea

When I See An Elephant Fly

When We're Human

Yogi Bear Song

You've Got A Friend In Me

~~~ Video game charts ~~~

Jump Up Super Star

Kirby Green Greens

The Legend of Zelda Theme

~~~ Christmas charts ~~~

All I Want For Christmas Is You

Auld Lang Syne

Away In A Manger

Driving Home For Christmas

Feliz Navidad

Frosty The Snowman

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

I'll Be Home For Christmas

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Jingle Bell Rock

Jingle Bells

Last Christmas

Let It Snow

Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree

Rootin' Tootin' Santa Claus

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Silent Night

Sleigh Ride

Somewhere In My Memory

The Christmas Song

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

White Christmas

Winter Wonderland

Christopher's Prices

Last updated: 2024

Note: prices may vary based on travel distance. For an exact quote, click “Check availability”.

Performance duration	Price
Short performance (up to 15 min)	£200
Up to 1 hour	£290
Up to 2 hours	£385
Up to 3 hours	£485

Drinks reception

Two performances of up to 45 mins each during your drinks reception

£385

Wedding ceremony

This includes music before the service begins, music during the signing of the register, and music as guests leave.

£385

Wedding ceremony + Drinks reception + Dinner

- Music before the service begins, music during the signing of the register, and music as guests leave. - 2 x 45 min performances at the drinks reception. - 2 x 45 min performances as dinner is being served.

£595

Customer questions

What do your clients love most about your performances?

Very common in the feedback I get from clients is my professionalism, high musical standards and friendly nature at gigs. I love playing this music and want to share that with your guests are your event. I always turn up early to make sure we're set up in time to keep your event on track.

Which venues have you performed at in the past?

I've performed all over the UK and Europe, at luxury hotels, city centre bars, restaurants, cafes, cinemas, theatre and concert hall foyers, and music venues, including several radio and TV performances, and at major concert halls such as The Royal Albert Hall and Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.

Which artists have you been most influenced by?

My favourite jazz composers include: Keith Jarrett Duke Ellington Johnny Hodges Charlie Parker Miles Davis Billy Strayhorn Bart Howard Antonio Jobim Rodgers and Hart Jerome Kern Irving Berlin

What is the most high profile gig you've performed?

Making sure the music on someone's wedding day is some of the highest pressured stuff you'll do as a musician, as you want it to be absolutely spot on for their special day. I've performed multiple times for Queen Elizabeth, and at prestigious world-class venues such as The Royal Albert Hall and The Roundhouse in London.

What if my timings change after I've booked you?

We always try our best to be flexible to help ensure your event runs as smoothly as possible. If timings change slightly in the run up to the event just let me know.

Can you provide an iPod/DJ service before and between your sets?

Absolutely. This is a really popular request and I actually offer this service for free. If you'd like a DJ service via my PA after the final set until the venue closes, I provide this for an additional £125.

How much time do you need to set up?

We usually set up about 1 to 1.5 hours before the performance time.

If I have a piano at my venue, are you happy to perform on that?

Yes, of course - as long as the piano is in working order and in tune, then I'm happy to play on it!

Can I pick the songs you play from the set list?

Our set lists are crafted from countless performances and learning what works best to ensure guests dance and have an amazing time. However, we're definitely happy to chat through and make sure we find what works for your event.

Are you able to bring your own piano or keyboard?

Yes, absolutely! I bring my own digital stage piano.

Can you learn song requests before the event?

If a song isn't included in our song list there may still be a chance we already know it. If there is a special song you'd like us to learn we are happy to do this for you. There is a fee of £30 for this service to take into account rehearsal times etc.

Musicianship

Genres:

Jazz, 1920s era music, 1930s era music, 1940s era music, 1950s era music, 1960s era music, 1990s era music, 1980s era music, 1970s era music, Folk, Bluegrass, Country, Ceillidh, Folk rock, Irish rock, Rockabilly, Traditional English folk, Traditional Irish folk, Traditional Scottish folk, Blues, Cabaret, Dixieland, Gypsy jazz, Jazz fusion, Latin jazz, Modern jazz, Postmodern jukebox jazz, Ragtime, Swing, Barbershop, Gospel, Easy listening, Light music, Originals, Acoustic, Americana, Vintage, Rock, Alternative rock, Classic rock, Hard rock, Hardcore, Indie, Pop rock, Rock 'n' Roll, Christmas, Film / TV music, Musical theatre, Ceilidh, Welsh folk

See all genres

Instruments:

Piano

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Event types:

Private event, Wedding, Wedding proposal, Funeral / Memorial service, Hotel / Restaurant event, Bar / Club / Venue event, Corporate event, Charity event, Concert, Recording session, Theatre / Show, Cruise, Burns night, Birthday party, Christmas party, New Year's Eve, Virtual event

See all event types

Other skills:

Arranger, Audio engineer, Composer, Orchestrator, Producer, Sound technician, Transcription, Fluent improviser, Instrumental teaching, Theory teaching, Community music worker, Animateur, Accompanist, MC

See all skills