Hire 🎷Sam Craig | Saxophonist in Birmingham

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From£375

1 hour

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About Sam

Top saxophonist available for weddings, corporate events and private functions across the UK and beyond.

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Saxophonist

Birmingham

Public liability insurance of £10 million

Verified profile

Sam Craig is a leading UK-saxophonist available for hire across the country at all manner of events.. Having graduated from the prestigious jazz programme at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire of Music, Sam’s eclectic range of influences have seen him become widely recognised across a whole range of musical genres, playing for clubs, theatres, West End shows, major festivals, studio sessions and radio broadcasts. Having taken to the stage alongside the likes of Bastille, Jamie Cullum, Tony Christie, X-factor winner Sam Bailey and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Julian Smith, amongst countless other leading artists, Sam’s vast experience allows him to play with effortless power and groove and has has a gift for playing the audience as well as the music. Available as a soloist or with his established jazz quartet, Sam can provide the perfect soundtrack for any event as either background entertainment or as a headline attraction.

Sam

5 out of 5

40 verified reviews

Satisfaction

5.0

Professionalism

5.0

Communication

5.0

Punctuality

5.0

Sam's Reviews

5 out of 5

Sam was a great addition to our event! Would highly recommend!

4.8 out of 5

Fantastic from the very start. Great saxophonist! Thanks Sam

5 out of 5

Sam was brilliant for our drinks reception! We had a lot of comments saying how good the sax music was. There was a range of music that suited everyone. Would highly recommend Sam! Thank you!

5 out of 5

Excellent performance. Made the day and got everyone up dancing.

Read all 31 reviews

5 out of 5

We just wanted to drop you a note to thank you so much for playing at our wedding. You were amazing and our guests were blown away!

5 out of 5

I got in touch with StraightFIRE after a recommendation from a long-standing friend but didn't really know what we wanted to do in terms of entertainment for a large family gathering. Sam was so helpful on the phone, listened to all of my thoughts and put together the most perfect performance. They played all of my favorite Motown songs and also some new music that the children enjoyed - everyone thought they were amazing and danced the night away. Thank you so much - I will definitely be in touch again for any future family events.

Read all 10 reviews

Encore badges

Lightning fast responses

Average response time under 2 hours

50 gigs

Veteran: 50 bookings through Encore

Saved the day!

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

5th Anniversary

This act has been working with Encore for over 5 years

Sam's Song list

Motown/Soul Classics-----------

ABC

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

All Night Long

Baby Love

Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You

Dancin' In The Street

Do You Love Me

Easy

Endless Love

Get Ready

Heatwave

Hello

Higher Ground

I Heard It Through The Grapevine

I Want You Back

Lady Marmalade

Let's Get It On

My Girl

My Guy

Nowhere To Run

Reach Out

Respect

Signed Sealed Delivered

Sir Duke

Superstition

Modern Pop-------------

24k Magic

Can't Stop The Feeling

Cheerleader

Closer

Crazy

Crazy In Love

Don't Start Now

Galway Girl

Havana

Jubel

Locked Out Of Heaven

New Rules

One Kiss

One Touch

Payphone

Rather Be

Rockabye

Say Something

Shape Of You

Sorry

Stitches

Thank You, Next

This Love

Uptown Funk

00s Hits-------------

All Star

American Boy

Beautiful

Better Together

Broken Strings

Bubbly

Can't Get You Out Of My Head

Chasing Pavements

Don't Know Why

Haven't Met You Yet

If I Ain't Got You

I Gotta Feeling

Just The Way You Are

Last Request

Lola's Theme

Love Story

Make You Feel My Love

Marry You

Move Your Feet

New Shoes

Put Your Records On

Rehab

Raise Your Glass

Rock DJ

Rock Your Body

Sexyback

Since U Been Gone

Stuck In A Moment

Single Ladies

A Thousand Miles

90s Favorites=------------

Angels

Back For Good

Bacl Or White

Canned Heat

Cosmic Girl

Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me

Finally

Groove Is In The Heart

I Want It That Way

Let Me Entertain You

Mambo No. 5

Man I Feel Like A Woman

MmmBop

Moving on Up

Mysterious Girl

Picture Of You

Sing It Back

Torn

Wannabe

Waterfalls

Wonderwall

80s Hits-------------------

9 to 5

Ain't Nobody

Billie Jean

Come On Elieen

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Don't Stop Believing

Gold

I'm Coming Out

I've Had The Time Of My Life

I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Kiss

Let's Dance

A Little Respect

Love Shack

Man In The Mirror

Never Gonna Give You Up

Never Too Much

The Power Of Love

Purple Rain

Summer of '69

Uptown Girl

Walking On Sunshine

The Way You Make Me Feel

You Can Call Me Al

Jazz Repertoire (+ Any songbook standards)-------------

All of me

Lady is a tramp

Fly Me To The Moon

At Last

Summertime

Almost Like Being In Love

Georgia

Cheek To Cheek

Fascinating Rhythm

Sway

The way you look tonight

Misty

Have You Met Miss Jones

Don't Get Around Much Anymore

Route 66

I Get A Kick Out Of You

I've Got The World On A String

It Ain't Necessarily So

L-O-V-E

That Old Black Magic

What A Difference A Day Made

You Make Me Feel So Young

Beyond The Sea

This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)

World On A String

String Of Pearls

Stompin' At The Savoy

This Is Always

Tangerine

Doxy

Skylark

St. Thomas

There Will Never Be Another You

Body And Soul

What Is This Thing Called Love

Beautiful Love

I Got Rhythm

How High The Moon

Moon River

Under My Skin

Witchcraft

My Way

All Or Nothing At All

Stella By Starlight

Autumn leaves

Moonlight In Vermont

I Get A Kick Out Of You

Old Devil Moon

Luck Be A Lady

Angel Eyes

All Blues

Just Friends

Maiden Voyage

Impressions

Take The A Train

Softly As In A Morning Sunrise

Bye Bye Blackbird

Blue Bossa

Georgia

Georgia On My Mind

Miss Jones and I

It Could Happen To You

Sam'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)	£250
Up to 1 hour	£375
Up to 2 hours	£437.50
Up to 3 hours	£500

Wedding ceremony

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

£225

Drinks reception

Two performances of up to 45 mins each during your drinks reception. Includes provision of P.A. speakers.

£250

Jazz Quartet

Instead of playing to backing tracks, Sam also leads a Jazz quartet who are available. The listed price is a guide price for 2 x 50 minute sets.

£1250

Customer questions

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

Not a problem. Just get in touch as soon as possible and I will always endeavour to be flexible and fit in with your plans where possible.

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 the PA after the final set until the venue closes, I can provide this for a small additional fee.

How much time do you need to set up?

On my own, with no P.A. set up, as little as 5 minutes! As a jazz quartet, we usually set up about 1 to 1.5 hours before the performance time. As soon as the PA is in place, we can provide a free playlist service to help set the atmosphere and get your guests ready for our live performance!

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

All of the set lists are crafted from countless performances and learning what works best to ensure guests dance and have an amazing time. However, I'm always happy to chat through and make sure that we find what will work best for your event.

Do you bring all the equipment you need to perform?

Yes, absolutely! I bring my own instrument to play acoustically. We can discuss P.A. requirements specifically for your event. I am able to provide a small P.A. set up free of charge.

Can you learn song requests before the event?

With the jazz library being so extensive, it wouldn't be possible to list all of my repertoire on the sample list so you may find there's a good chance that I, or my quartet, will already know it. My quartet and I do have a lot of experience in crafting set lists but if there is something specific that means something special to you then please let me know.

What do your clients love most about your performances?

Audience interaction, genuine enthusiasm, extensive repertoire knowledge and a huge, unique saxophone sound!

Which venues have you performed at in the past?

Birmingham Symphony Hall, London Arts Club, NIA, NEC, The Jamhouse, Royal Albert Hall and many more.

Which artists have you been most influenced by?

Michael Brecker, Sonny Rollins, Art Pepper, Grover Washington, Kenny Garrett,

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

BBC Sinatra Centenary Concert, live on BBC Radio 2.

Musicianship

Genres:

Christmas, Electronic, Drum 'n' Bass, House, Electro-Swing, Deep house, Ibiza club, 1930s era music, 1940s era music, 1950s era music, 1960s era music, 1920s era music, Jazz, Blues, Cabaret, Dixieland, Gypsy jazz, Jazz fusion, Latin jazz, Modern jazz, Postmodern jukebox jazz, Ragtime, Swing, Barbershop, Gospel, Light music, Easy listening, Pop, Covers, Funk, Funk rock, Soul, R&B, Motown, Vintage, Rock, Pop rock, Progressive rock, Acoustic, Ambient pop, Americana, Disco, Hip Hop, Karaoke, Top 40, Tribute

See all genres

Instruments:

Saxophone, Alto saxophone, Tenor saxophone, Flute, Clarinet, Singer (tenor), Singing pianist, Piano, Singer, Singer (alto), Singer (soprano), Guitar

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Event types:

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

See all event types

Other skills:

Arranger, Composer, Songwriter, Producer, Transcription, Fluent improviser, Fluent sight-reader, Live looping, Perfect pitch, Instrumental teaching, Theory teaching, Singing teaching, Composition teaching, Music therapy, Accompanist

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