Jazz trio hire in Australia: the complete guide

The jazz trio is the default sound of a drinks hour in this country, and it earned that place honestly. Three musicians can play for two hours without repeating themselves, hold a volume that lets a room talk, and turn a corner of a venue into something that feels considered without anybody making a speech about it.

Live prices from the trios listed here sit below. The category is small on this site, so also look under the wider jazz band and jazz duo pages, where many of the same players appear with a different label on them.

The live city range is in the table below, though relatively few groups in this category publish a starting figure, so treat what you see as a signpost and expect to enquire with two or three. Set length and travel are the things that move a quote most.

Three working jazz musicians clearing an evening is the bulk of the fee. There is very little gear cost in a trio, which is part of why it undercuts a larger band while still sounding like a proper ensemble rather than a backing track with someone playing over it.

Piano, double bass and drums is the classic, and it is the most flexible thing you can put in a room. The piano carries the harmony and the melody, the bass gives it a floor, the drums keep it moving without taking over. Guitar often replaces the piano when the venue has nowhere to put a keyboard.

The other common shape puts a saxophone or a trumpet on top with two rhythm players underneath, which gives you a clear lead voice and a more obvious tune. That version reads as music to listen to. The piano trio reads as atmosphere. Neither is better and they suit different parts of an evening.

This is the decision that changes the booking most. Add a vocalist and guests start recognising songs, paying attention and sometimes singing along, which is lovely at a party and a nuisance at a cocktail hour meant for conversation and introductions.

My honest view is that instrumental suits the drinks hour and a singer suits the part of the night after dinner. Plenty of trios include a singer or can add one for a fee, so ask for both prices. And if you do want vocals for only part of the evening, say that, because it is a very normal arrangement and it usually costs less than you fear.

A jazz trio is quiet by band standards but it is not silent, mostly because of the drums. A kit in a small room with a hard floor can be louder than anybody planned, which is why experienced players bring brushes and often a smaller kit for function work. Ask about it if your venue has a noise limit.

Space is the other thing. Drums, a double bass and a keyboard take up more floor than people picture, and the double bass in particular needs somewhere to stand upright between sets. Send a photo of the corner you have in mind, along with where the nearest power point is.

Arrivals and drinks is the obvious slot and the one it does best. After that, a seated dinner, a gallery opening, an awards reception before the formalities, or a long Sunday lunch. It suits any moment where you want live music that adults register as good without it interrupting anything.

It is not a dance floor act on its own. A trio will happily play something with a beat and a few people will get up, but if the plan is a packed floor at eleven you want a bigger band or a DJ after them. Use the trio for the first half of the night, which is the part most events underdress.

What is the lineup, instrument by instrument? Is there a vocalist, and what does adding one cost? How many sets and how long? How much floor space do you take, and is the sound system yours or ours? And can you keep it at conversation level through the meal and lift it afterwards?

Ask for footage from a function rather than a jazz club. A club crowd is there for the music and the band plays accordingly. What you need to judge is how the same three players sound when the job is to hold a room that is talking, which is a different and less glamorous skill.