This past weekend Peter & the Master Keys brought the full force of the 7-piece band to two weddings. For both couples it was their second time getting married and that brought them the wisdom and maturity to make a strong and lasting partnership.

I met John and Stephanie at Lafayette Grand Cafe in NYC a few years ago where I played for their friends wedding anniversary. We stayed in touch and I was honored to be invited to play for them when they decided to celebrate their own wedding! The band traveled to their lovely home in Wilmington, De. where they had an enormous tent for all of their friends and family. Since most of their friends were in their 40s-60s, they loved that the Master Keys could play excellent renditions of old jazz standards early in the evening and then transition to rollicking blues and soul that kept them and their friends on the dance floor til the end. Songs like Sinatra’s “NY, NY”, Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell” and “Tequila” were such big crowd pleasers that they wouldn’t let us go without an encore!

Stephanie found the band through The Knot and soon they stopped by Fine and Rare in NYC to hear the band play. Jim told me that he was a big blues guy so I was more than happy to oblige with some of my favorites. After a very pleasant chat they hired the band on the spot! The couple chose the world famous River Cafe on the Brooklyn waterfront as their venue and it was absolutely beautiful. The band played “All You Need Is Love” by the Beatles for the recessional and Bob Dylan’s “Make You Feel My Love” was their choice for first dance. I always include a first dance request for free and I made a nice arrangement of it which I think I’ll keep for future reference! Jim incorporated his Irish heritage by having a bagpiper play as guests gather and a family friend lead the party in a rousing rendition of “Irish Rover”. We kept the crowd going with the blend of jazz, blues and rock n' roll (and a couple requests) that the band does so well. We love what we do!