Hire Michael A. Grant | Saxophonist in Manchester

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From£250

1 hour

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Rocket Man | Elton John | Saxophone Cover

Ain't That A Kick In The Head

If Tomorrow Never Comes | Ronan Keating | Saxophone Cover

About Michael

A professional saxophonist with over 10 years’ experience playing all sorts of music in all sorts of locations for all sorts of occasions!

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Saxophonist

Manchester

Public liability insurance of £10 million

Verified profile

Michael A. Grant is a freelance saxophonist with over 10 years’ experience performing for all kinds of events and occasions. He is based in Manchester, but regularly travels to perform throughout the country and further afield, with recent engagements taking him as far as Guernsey, Malta and Florence. He is a consummate professional: reliable, easy to work with, and guaranteed to give a polished performance every time. This attitude places him in high demand with bands and orchestras across the UK, leading to engagements at such venues as London’s Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – West End production, 2016), Chatsworth House (The Jelly Roll Jazz Band – Christmas Market, 2022), and Nevill Holt Opera House (The Sam Jewison Orchestra, 2022). He also does a considerable amount of work as a remote recording musician, contributing woodwind parts to a diverse range of songs and albums for clients across the globe. A versatile musician, Michael has a repertoire of over 250 songs including popular hits from the past 60 years, jazz/swing classics, film/TV themes and Christmas favourites. Furthermore, he is happy to accommodate requests, so whatever the theme he should be able to supply the perfect musical accompaniment. Speaking of accompaniment, Michael can provide high-quality backing tracks for his entire repertoire, to give the sound of a full backing band within the space of a small amplifier. He has a portable battery-powered PA system, allowing him to easily perform in tight spaces, without access to a power supply, or even outdoors (weather permitting)! Although his set list is primarily geared towards the alto saxophone, he is also proficient in the clarinet, flute and bassoon – so if you are looking for a different sound to complement your event, he will be all too happy to substitute an alternative instrument. Finally, Michael is always happy to have a chat and answer any questions, so drop him a message today to discuss the wondrous musical possibilities available for your event!

Michael

5 out of 5

5 verified reviews

Satisfaction

5.0

Professionalism

5.0

Communication

5.0

Punctuality

5.0

Michael's Reviews

5 out of 5

Absolutely fantasic

5 out of 5

Michael was absolutely fantastic playing at our wedding! His communication was excellent and he was so accommodating, even learning extra songs for us. All our guests said how brilliant he was - we would highly recommend! Thank you Michael!

5 out of 5

Michael’s playing was flawless, he was very accommodating with our choice of music. All of the guests were really impressed

5 out of 5

So accommodating, helpful in booking and rhe performance was flawless. So fitting! Thank you

Read all 5 reviews

Michael did a first-class job playing for our show. He was punctual and professional, sight-reading his part not only accurately but also with commitment and wonderful musicality. It was a pleasure working with him, and I have no hesitation in recommending him unreservedly.

Michael was asked at short notice to cover a 2 week run of Guys and Dolls at York Theatre Royal. Initially he was going to play 2nd alto but his ability across all the reeds gave me the flexibility to send him the tenor/clarinet pad. Michael’s playing was top drawer and he was 100% reliable, punctual and great to have around for the run. I’ll happily book him again and recommend him to others. Thanks Michael!

Read all 11 reviews

Encore badges

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

Michael's Song list

----------Pop - 1960s----------

A Whiter Shade Of Pale (Procol Harum)

All You Need Is Love (The Beatles)

Can't Help Falling In Love (Elvis Presley)

He Ain't Heavy... He's My Brother (The Hollies)

Here, There and Everywhere (The Beatles)

Hey Jude (The Beatles)

Lady Madonna (The Beatles)

Michelle (The Beatles)

Nights In White Satin (The Moody Blues)

Oh, Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison)

Penny Lane (The Beatles)

Ring Of Fire (Johnny Cash)

She Loves You (The Beatles)

She's Leaving Home (The Beatles)

Sweet Caroline (Neil Diamond)

Unchained Melody (The Righteous Brothers)

When I'm Sixty Four (The Beatles)

Working My Way Back To You (The Four Seasons)

Yesterday (The Beatles)

----------Pop - 1970s----------

Baker Street (Gerry Rafferty)

Bridge Over Troubled Water (Simon and Garfunkel)

Candle In The Wind (Elton John)

Chiquitita (ABBA)

Crocodile Rock (Elton John)

Dancing Queen (ABBA)

Don't Go Breaking My Heart (Elton John & Kiki Dee)

Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me (Elton John)

Fernando (ABBA)

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John)

Honey, Honey (ABBA)

How Deep Is Your Love (The Bee Gees)

If You Leave Me Now (Chicago)

Imagine (John Lennon)

Jet (Paul McCartney & Wings)

Killing Me Softly With His Song (Roberta Flack)

Knowing Me, Knowing You (ABBA)

Life On Mars? (David Bowie)

Mamma Mia (ABBA)

Money, Money, Money (ABBA)

Mull Of Kintyre (Wings)

Never Let Her Slip Away (Andrew Gold)

Rocket Man (Elton John)

Someone Saved My Life Tonight (Elton John)

Stayin' Alive (The Bee Gees)

Take A Chance On Me (ABBA)

Thank You For The Music (ABBA)

The Air That I Breathe (The Hollies)

Tiny Dancer (Elton John)

Waterloo (ABBA)

When I Need You (Leo Sayer)

Without You (Harry Nilsson)

Wonderful Tonight (Eric Clapton)

You're So Vain (Carly Simon)

Your Song (Elton John)

----------Pop - 1980s----------

(I've Had) The Time Of My Life (from 'Dirty Dancing')

Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) (Phil Collins)

Blue Eyes (Elton John)

Don't Stop Believin' (Journey)

Eye Of The Tiger (Survivor)

Have I Told You Lately (Van Morrison)

I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues (Elton John)

I'm Still Standing (Elton John)

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now (Starship)

One Day I'll Fly Away (Randy Crawford)

Sacrifice (Elton John)

Super Trouper (ABBA)

The Wind Beneath My Wings (Bette Midler)

The Winner Takes It All (ABBA)

Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper)

We Belong (Pat Benatar)

----------Pop - 1990s----------

(Everything I Do) I Do It For You (Bryan Adams)

2 Become 1 (The Spice Girls)

Falling Into You (Celine Dion)

I Am Blessed (Eternal)

I Believe I Can Fly (R. Kelly)

I Will Always Love You (Whitney Houston)

Kiss From A Rose (Seal)

Love Is All Around (Wet Wet Wet)

Never Ever (All Saints)

Nothing Compares 2 U (Sinead O'Connor)

Tears In Heaven (Eric Clapton)

Torn (Natalie Imbruglia)

Words (Boyzone)

----------Pop - 2000s----------

1973 (James Blunt)

All About You (McFly)

All This Time (Michelle)

Apologize (OneRepublic)

Bad Romance (Lady Gaga)

Beautiful Day (U2)

Born To Try (Delta Goodrem)

Broken Strings (James Morrison feat. Nelly Furtado)

Chasing Pavements (Adele)

Clocks (Coldplay)

Cold Shoulder (Adele)

Cry Me A River (Justin Timberlake)

Cry Me Out (Pixie Lott)

Don't Know Why (Norah Jones)

Everytime (Britney Spears)

Fight For This Love (Cheryl Cole)

Fireflies (Owl City)

Hallelujah (Alexandra Burke)

Halo (Beyonce)

Hometown Glory (Adele)

Human (The Killers)

I Don't Feel Like Dancin' (Scissor Sisters)

If I Were A Boy (Beyonce)

If Tomorrow Never Comes (Ronan Keating)

Leave Right Now (Will Young)

Life For Rent (Dido)

Love Story (Taylor Swift)

Mad World (Michael Andrews feat. Gary Jules)

Make You Feel My Love (Adele)

Other Side Of The World (KT Tunstall)

Patience (Take That)

Put Your Records On (Corinne Bailey Rae)

Right As Rain (Adele)

Rule The World (Take That)

Run (Leona Lewis)

Something Beautiful (Robbie Williams)

Take A Bow (Rihanna)

The Climb (Joe McElderry)

The Closest Thing To Crazy (Katie Melua)

The Fear (Lily Allen)

The Voice Within (Christina Aguilera)

Tonight (Westlife)

Viva La Vida (Coldplay)

Warwick Avenue (Duffy)

You Raise Me Up (Westlife)

----------Pop - 2010s----------

22 (Taylor Swift)

All About Tonight (Pixie Lott)

Best Song Ever (One Direction)

Big When I Was Little (Eliza Doolittle)

Born To Die (Lana Del Rey)

Call My Name (Cheryl Cole)

Domino (Jessie J)

Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall (Coldplay)

Firework (Katy Perry)

Glad You Came (The Wanted)

Grenade (Bruno Mars)

Hey Porsche (Nelly)

I'll Be Waiting (Adele)

Jar Of Hearts (Christina Perri)

Jealousy (Will Young)

Just Give Me A Reason (P!nk)

Last Friday Night (Katy Perry)

Let Her Go (Passenger)

Love Goes Down (Plan B)

Panic Cord (Gabrielle Aplin)

Right Place Right Time (Olly Murs)

Rolling In The Deep (Adele)

Set Fire To The Rain (Adele)

Someone Like You (Adele)

Stay (Rihanna)

The A Team (Ed Sheeran)

The Flood (Take That)

Titanium (David Guetta feat. Sia)

Turning Tables (Adele)

Walks Like Rihanna (The Wanted)

We Found Love (Rihanna)

What Makes You Beautiful (One Direction)

----------Jazz & Swing----------

(Love Is) The Tender Trap (Frank Sinatra)

Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens

Ain't That A Kick In The Head (Dean Martin)

But Not For Me (George Gershwin)

Come Fly With Me (Frank Sinatra)

Flying Home

Georgia On My Mind

Hit That Jive Jack

I Got Rhythm (George Gershwin)

I'll Build A Stairway To Paradise (George Gershwin)

I'm Getting Sentimental Over You

Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby?

Jump, Jive An' Wail

Love Walked In (George Gershwin)

Me And My Shadow (Sammy Davis Jnr. & Frank Sinatra)

My Way (Frank Sinatra)

Nice Work If You Can Get It (George Gershwin)

Oh, Lady Be Good! (George Gershwin)

Perdido

Someone To Watch Over Me (George Gershwin)

Somethin' Stupid (Frank Sinatra)

Summertime (George Gershwin)

Swing That Music

That's Amore (Dean Martin)

The Lady Is A Tramp (Frank Sinatra)

The Man I Love (George Gershwin)

They Can't Take That Away From Me (George Gershwin)

Tuxedo Junction

What Kind Of Fool Am I? (Sammy Davis Jnr.)

You're Nobody Til Somebody Loves You (Dean Martin)

Zoot Suit Riot

----------Musicals----------

A Whole New World (from 'Aladdin')

Circle Of Life (from 'The Lion King')

Defying Gravity (from 'Wicked')

Don't Cry For Me Argentina (from 'Evita')

Good Morning Baltimore (from 'Hairspray')

I Dreamed A Dream (from 'Les Miserables')

I Know Him So Well (from 'Chess')

Love Never Dies (from 'Love Never Dies')

Seasons Of Love (from 'Rent')

Suddenly Seymour (from 'Little Shop Of Horrors')

Tell Me It's Not True (from 'Blood Brothers')

The Letter (from 'Billy Elliot')

----------Film & TV----------

(Where Do I Begin?) Love Story (from 'Love Story')

A Musical Joke (BBC Horse Of The Year Theme)

A Question Of Sport

A Thousand Years (from 'Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1')

All Of The Stars (from 'The Fault In Our Stars')

Atlas (from 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire')

Born Free (from 'Born Free')

Do You Want To Build A Snowman? (from 'Frozen')

Everything Is AWESOME!!! (from 'The LEGO Movie')

Grandstand

Happy (from 'Despicable Me 2')

I See Fire (from 'The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug')

Light And Tuneful (Wimbledon Opening Theme)

Match Of The Day

Moon River (from 'Breakfast At Tiffany's')

Once Upon A Dream (from 'Maleficent')

Out Of The Blue (Theme to "Sports Report")

Pop Looks Bach (Ski Sunday Theme)

Skyfall (from 'Skyfall')

Soul Limbo (Test Match Special Theme)

Suddenly (from 'Les Miserables')

Take My Breath Away (from 'Top Gun')

The Godfather (Theme) (from 'The Godfather')

Up Where We Belong (from 'An Officer And A Gentleman')

Where Do I Begin (from 'Love Story')

World In Union (World Cup Rugby 1991 Theme)

World Of Sport

You Must Love Me (from 'Evita')

----------Traditional----------

(There'll Be) Peace In The Valley (For Me)

Amazing Grace

Down By The Riverside

Go Down Moses

I Found The Answer

Just A Closer Walk With Thee

Lean On Me

Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

When The Saints Go Marching In

----------Christmas----------

A Spaceman Came Travelling (Chris de Burgh)

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Blue Christmas

C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S

Fairytale Of New York (The Pogues)

Frosty The Snowman

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (John Lennon)

Hark, The Herald Angels Sing

Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Home For The Holidays

I Believe In Father Christmas (Greg Lake)

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day (Wizzard)

Jingle Bell Rock

Jingle Bells

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Lonely This Christmas (Mud)

Mary's Boy Child

Merry Xmas Everybody (Slade)

Mistletoe And Wine (Cliff Richard)

O Little Town Of Bethlehem

Once In Royal David's City

Santa Baby

Silent Night

Sleigh Ride

Stop The Cavalry (Jona Lewie)

The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)

The Christmas Waltz

Winter Wonderland

Wonderful Christmastime (Paul McCartney)

Michael's Prices

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

Performance duration	Price
Short performance (up to 15 min)	£160
Up to 1 hour	£250
Up to 2 hours	£375
Up to 3 hours	£500

Customer questions

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

I appreciate that timings sometimes need to be a bit flexible, especially if an event is booked far in advance. I always leave plenty of time before and after a booking, so if you do find you need to move things around then that should be absolutely fine.

How much time do you need to set up?

I have very little in the way of equipment to put together - basically just myself, my instrument, my music stand and my little amplifier. I don't really need more than 15 minutes to assemble everything, although I usually aim to arrive 1 hour prior to a performance to be on the safe side.

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

Of course! In fact it saves me a job having to choose them myself. ; ) Feel free to take your pick from my repertoire, or you're welcome to suggest a more general genre you'd like me to stick to (e.g. ballads, 2000s pop, jazz).

Do you bring all the equipment you need to perform?

I do indeed. Just me, my saxophone, my music and my PA system.

Can you learn specific pieces before the event?

Yes, if you have a particular request that isn't already on my set list then let me know and should be able to learn it for you at no extra charge. If you have more than 2 or 3 additional requests though then I may need to charge a little extra for the additional time taken to put them together.

Musicianship

Genres:

Pop, Classical, Baroque, Contemporary classical, Film / TV music, Musical theatre, Opera, Jazz, Cabaret, Dixieland, Gypsy jazz, Ragtime, Swing, Light music, Originals, Christmas, 1920s era music, 1930s era music, 1940s era music, 1950s era music, 1960s era music, 1970s era music, 1980s era music, 1990s era music, Blues, Gospel, Easy listening, Covers, Soul, Top 40, Vintage, Rock, Classic rock, Pop rock

See all genres

Instruments:

Saxophone, Alto saxophone, Clarinet, Bass Clarinet, Bassoon, Flute, Piccolo, Ukulele, Percussion, Composer, Orchestrator, Tenor saxophone, Baritone saxophone, Soprano saxophone

See all instruments

Event types:

Wedding, Theatre / Show, Wedding proposal, Funeral / Memorial service, Church service, Hotel / Restaurant event, Private event, Corporate event, Charity event, Concert, Recording session, Cruise, Birthday party, Christmas party, New Year's Eve

See all event types

Other skills:

Arranger, Composer, Orchestrator, Transcription, Songwriter, Lyricist, Fluent improviser, Fluent sight-reader

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