Hire Aquavit | Latin jazz band in Birmingham

Check availability and get a free quote now - no commitment to book

From£600

1 hour

Like Aquavit?

Watch & Listen

1-3 of 6 videos

I wish I knew how it would be to be free

I wanna be like you (Louis Prima)

They can't take that away from me (Studio Rehearsal)

About Aquavit

Aquavit blends Latin, Soul, Blues, Jazz, Pop and World Music. At core a big sound duo but expanding to trio or full show band.

3 of 7 photos

Latin jazz band

Birmingham

Charlotte Foster, the soulful vocalist from Denmark and Alan Hess, Keyboardist, Digital Electric Accordionist and multi-instrumentalist with Polish roots. The band expands on the duo as and when desired with various topline musicians on Sax, Guitar, Drums and others. A whole orchestra, if you wish. Alan is a retired music teacher from Switzerland and trained orchestrator. Oh and you'll be surprised to find out that the Roland v-accordion actually sounds more like a piano, a hammond blues organ or full orchestra with inclusive bass! Take a listen to our videos or audio playlists to hear. Absolutely not what one at first sight expects! Danish vocalist Charlotte Foster took vocal training from a young age and studied music in high school, branching out to a jazz vibe later in life. Her inspirations include the jazz greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Billie Holliday etc. taking inspiration from a wide variety of the great jazz vocalists and a has a passion for interpreting and putting her soul into the songs she sings. She has worked and lived throughout Europe and is multi lingual. Now in semi retirement, she is a co-founder of Aquavit bringing Latin, Jazz, Soul and also wider genres together in a compact big sound combo. Alan Hess is a classically trained orchestrator and retired music teacher, having founded an ongoing special educational project for special needs students in Switzerland, together with his late wife. Jazz has always been a great influence in his life, growing up with an English mother who loved the classic big band sounds, blues and early bebop. Parallel to this, his father encouraged him to play tangos, latin, kletzmer and polkas on accordion at his social club. This crossover is still to be heard in Alan's improvisation. As co-founder of Aquavit in 2024, he works together with Charlotte on various band arrangements or purely as the duo with big sound. This is made possible by the unique Roland digital FR-7 accordion, which is actually a full function Roland keyboard built to look like an accordion. It can sound like a piano, a hammond organ, bass and even sax! Even a genuine accordion sound is possible of course, which is useful for gypsy jazz or ethnic titles. As a simple duo, the sound of bass player, keyboards, sax and vocalist can be produced by just two people! Both Alan and Charlotte also speak fluent German and a little of other languages. Aquavit are UK based but travel extensively in Europe.

Aquavit

4.8 out of 5

4 verified reviews

Aquavit's Reviews

5 out of 5

As the host of the long running Amigo's Stage at Sutton Coldfield’s biggest live music venue The Rhodehouse, I have seen Aquavit perform on many occasions and they always give us a fabulous performance and get the audience dancing and singing along .

4 out of 5

Dear Charlotte and Alan, Thank you for a great night and doing it for Birmingham City mission food bank. We really enjoyed the variety of songs and Aquavit surprised us with the amount of songs you and the two other gentleman sang and how you work so well together. We didn’t know what to expect but we were pleasantly surprised. Thank you again

Read all 4 reviews

Encore badges

1st Anniversary

This act has been working with Encore for over a year

Member of the Encore community forum

Aquavit's Song list

Alan Hess is Keyboardist with Aquavit. He is a trained orchestrator and retired Music Teacher from Zürich in Switzerland. He is able to quickly score and arrange almost any piece of desired music. Either for the Aquavit Duo or various combinations of top line musicians in band format.

We often use the Roland FR7 "chest keyboard", which looks like an accordion but sounds like many of the classic keyboards such as piano, Hammond Organ as well as orchestral simulations. It also has the advange of allowing an acoustic bass or bass guitar to be played "all in one".

A typical 2 x 45 min Sets for a feature show: (Drawn from a wide eclectic repetoire)

Set 1 - Aqua Vit:

1. Right now (Swing/Blues - Mel Tormé Cover)

2. Frenesi (Latin Cha Cha)

3. Kind of Hush all over the World (60s Pop)

4. Feel like making Love (Roberta Flack Cover)

5. Quando Quando / Tico Tico / Tequila - Latin Medley

6. Fever (Peggy Lee Cover)

7. Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps (Latin)

8. I only wanna be with you (60s Pop)

9. Tuxedo Junction (Jazz Big Band Standard)

10. Bei mir bist du (Gypsy Jazz)

11. Autumn Leaves (Smooth Jazz)

12. Ain't nobody here but us chickens (Louis Jordan Rock n Roll)

Set 2 – Aqua Vit

1. This Masqerade (Carpenters Cover in Latin Sytle)

2. Ain't Misbehaving (Jazz Standard)

3. Spooky (Dusty Springfield Cover - Jazz Funk style)

4. Lullaby of Birdland (Smooth Jazz Standard)

5. Ich dich liebe (Gypsy Jazz)

6. Cry me a River (Jazz Standard)

7. Meglio Strassera (Italian Latino Song from the Pink Panther)

8. Parisenne Days (Gary Moore Hit but in French Musette Style)

9. Singin in the rain (Classic Hollywood Musical Song)

10. What a wonderful world (Louis Armstrong Ballad Cover)

11. I wanna be like you (fun Jazz Scat from Disney's Jungle Book)

12. Amado Mio (Hollywood Rita Hayworth Song in Pink Martini Style)

Keyboardist Alan Hess is an accomplished orhestrator and arranger. Special requests can be quickly catered for.

Alternative example of a restaurant set:

Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps (Latin Rhumba)

I wish I knew how (Nina Simone cover - jazz classic)

Fever (Peggy Lee Cover)

Sway (Latin Mambo)

Just the Two of Us (Bill Wither's Cover - Soul/jazz)

Song for my Father (Horace Silver)

Girl from Ipanema (Bossa Nova classic)

Water Melon Man (Jazz Blues Standard)

You've got a Friend (Carol King cover)

Quando Quando Medley (Latin instrumental medley)

Smooth Operator (Sadé cover)

Aquavit's Prices

Last updated: 2026

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

Duration	Price
Up to 1 hour	£600
Up to 2 hours	£600
Up to 3 hours	£750

Customer questions

Do you have different line-up options?

We are a duo at core consisting of female vocalist and male keyboardist. We generally use a Roland FR-7 digital accordion as a compact versatile sound source. It can reproduce sounds of piano, hammond organ and bass all in one. Also orchestral sounds as and when required. We can supplement with drummer and or sax, plus other topline musicians as required.

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

We can always negotiate and will do our best to accomodate any changes.

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

Background music per iPod/Phone no problem if required.

How much time do you need to set up?

Depends on size of venue. For the duo in a small bar/lounge, it will be within minutes. Full PA system and drum kit may need up to an hour for carry in, testing etc. WIll estimate on booking with venue details.

Can you roam around while you perform?

This is indeed possible, as the Roland digital accordion has inbuilt speakers and a battery. The vocalist would need to rely on bare voice without mic, although we could provide wireless bluetooth links for both if roaming within range of amplifier.

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

Yes, absolutely. Also suggest special requests. We are quick learners. Our MD keyboardist is a former head of music at a Swiss school. He is able to create custom arrangements quickly and professionally.