James Hammel & Friends (solo/band)

About

Sings and plays guitar. Music is a soulful, jazz-inspired mix of singing and guitar filled with great energy and expression. His music is a mix of jazz, pop, blues, rock and originals. Fans of his vocal sound, style, and interpretation say his voice captures Sting’s sensitivity, the class and touch of Michael Buble, the cleverness of Michael Franks, the innocence of Chet Baker, and the playfulness of John Pizzarelli.
But the music selection doesn’t stop there as he is an excellent showman with excellent guitar chops and a trained voice with a warm, interpretive, and sincere sound

An eclectic song list of jazz, Brazilian jazz, pop, blues and award-winning original songs. All songs are beautifully arranged as well.
Scalable group of great musicians that can perform solo (playing guitar and singing), as a duo with him and a saxophone player, a trio (with him, a saxophone player, and a percussionist), and a quartet (with him, a saxophone player, a drummer, and a bass player). Customized acts are also available with larger groups with other instrumentation (especially drums, horn sections, piano, blues harp and more).

Band members include acclaimed musicians who are university faculty members as well as accomplished studio musicians and have literally hundreds of years of combined experience.
Clients can structure their show with a focus on a specific genre (such as jazz, pop, blues) or have a mixed genre show. The band can deliver a show or perform as background music, whichever works best for the client.

Songs

I sing and play more than 170 songs comprised of jazz standards, Brazilian standards, pop, rock, blues and award-winning original songs.

Jazz Songs-
A Song For You
A Wink And A Smile
Ain’t Misbehavin
All I Care About
All of Me
All or Nothing At All
Almost Like Being in Love
Angel Eyes
Beyond the Sea
Black Orpheus
Come Fly With Me
Come Rain or Come Shine
Cry Me A River
Desafinado
Don’t Dream Of Anybody But Me
Don’t Get Around Much Anymore
Easy To Love
Estate
Feeling Good
Fire & Rain
Fly Me To The Moon
Georgia On My Mind
Girl From Ipanema
Give Me The Simple Life
Here’s That Rainy Day
I Can’t Give You Anything But Love
I Get A Kick Out of You
I Remember You
I Thought About You
I’m Beginning to See the Light
I’m Glad There Is You
I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm
I’ve Got The World On A String
I’ve Got You Under My Skin
It Had to Be You
Just A Gigolo/Ain’t Got Nobody
Love Is Here To Stay
Love Is The Tender Trap
Lover/The Song Is You
Meditation
My Foolish Heart
My Funny Valentine
My One and Only Love
Night and Day
On The Sunny Side of The Street
Our Love Is Here To Stay
Over The Rainbow
Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars
Route 66 (Get Your Kicks On) S’Wonderful
So Nice (Summer Samba)
Someone to Watch Over Me
Stardust
Straighten Up and Fly Right
Summer Wind
Summertime
Sweet Lorraine
That’s All
The Island
The More I See You
The Nearness of You
The Song Is You
The Sweetest Sound
The Way You Look Tonight
The Windmills of Your Mind Unforgettable
Wave
What An Wonderful World
What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life When I Take My Sugar to Tea
When I Take My Sugar/Crazy Little Thing You Don’t Know What Love Is
You Go To My Head
You Stepped Out of A Dream

Blues and Pop Songs
Ain’t No Sunshine
All Is Fair In Love
Another Star
Antonio’s Song (The Rainbow) Anything, Any Day, Anytime Beautiful
Bird of Beauty
Boogie On Reggae Woman Can We Still Be Friends
Can’t Help Falling In Love Carolina In My Mind
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Doctor Wu
Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing Down In Brazil
Every Breath You Take Everything
Fields of Gold
God Only Knows
Golden Lady
Haven’t We Met
Home
I Believe In You
I Was Brought to My Senses
If I Ever Lose My Faith In You
Lean On Me
Let It Be
Let’s Fall In Love
Lost Mind
Mad Without Her, Sad Without Her Make You Feel My Love Moondance
My Girl
NY State of Mind
Popsicle Toes
Rikki Don’t Lose That Number Roxanne
Save the Last Dance
She Walks This Earth
Someone Like You
Spain/Fragile
Stuck on You
Sunday Morning
The Shape of My Heart
The Wind Cries Mary
Walking On the Moon
What You Won’t Do For Love
Why Should I Cry For You Wildflowers
With A Little Help From My Friends Work Song
You And I
You Are The Sunshine of My Life You’ve Got A Friend
Your Smiling Face

Originals
A Perfect Chance
Baby, It’s You
Call My Name
Do It All Over Again
Heaven Only Knows
Holding My Heart
Lady Mermaid
Letter From My Love
Set The Children Free
The Object of Her Affection
Why Am I So Blue
Why Do I Dream

Reviews

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE!!!!
First time meeting him , delightful and extremely talented .. we had a small gathering for my birthday 🥳.. his song choices were excellent and he respectfully played perfectly so you can enjoy his music and still have conversations with your guests ..just a delightful evening all in all .. I am definitely booking him for our next event !!

Alexsis Harris


They were GREAT!
Several guests said it was the best rehearsal dinner they’ve ever attended. Played a huge part in making my party such a success! I would absolutely book them again and again if I lived in the area! Thank you for helping to make the evening one I’ll always remember!

Brooker


Best Wedding Band EVER!
The most perfect band for any occasion! They played at our wedding. Their jazzy, funky, contemporary vibe was timeless. Every age group could relate. All the band members were professional and kind and incredibly talented. We will hire them again and again for future entertainment and always recommended them. They are worth their weight in gold—hands down! So incredibly pleased!

Margaret Relle


Excellent
We will be booking again! Wonderful

Zsa Zsa Nield


Professional and So Talented!
James was such a hit at my dad’s birthday party – he played a variety of different types of music from Blues to Jazz to Pop. Incredibly talented. Thank you, James!

Emma Stockdale


Great Talent
Has a wonderful voice and does a great job with the guitar!

Jon Hamby


Fantastic Band!!
Played for our local wedding reception and we could not have picked a more perfect band for the occasion. They are very talented musicians and were extremely professional throughout the evening. I would highly recommend.

Theodore Arnold


Great performance.
It was a great night, and we did enjoy his performance.

Patricia Agostini


Highly professional and played excellent jazz and blues music! We would definitely recommend them to anyone looking to host a relaxing, smooth jazz event!!!

Sonya C


On stage, he is at once completely natural and artfully focused, a rare combination. He gets to the core of each song with easy grace and understated eloquence.

Roy Sander, Critic and Columnist


Music Details

Music Type:

Covers of well known songs

Original music

Live Music

Main Music Style:

Swing – Jazz – Postmodern

All Music Styles:

Swing – Jazz – Postmodern, Vintage RocknRoll – Blues

Performance Details

Performance language(s):

English

Size options:

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 musician(s)

Vocal options:

MaIe Singer

Instrument options:

Acoustic Guitar, Bass Guitar, Double Bass, Drums, Electric Guitar, Keyboard – Piano, Percussion, Saxophone, Trumpet

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James Hammel & Friends (solo/band) on ACE Music Booking Agency

Live music hire rating: 4.99 / 5 (13545 ratings)

Verified Booking Reviews

Festival

Great, super easy, and the video/songs in artist’s log were super helpful!

Brittany (12 Feb 2025)

Pub – Bar

We get a lot of demand from bands wanting to play here and dealing with the calls can take up a lot of time. Much easier to just tell them to sign-up on your site.

John (10 Jan 2025)

Birthday Party

We booked Lee Alexander as an Elvis impersonator for our mum’s 60th, and he was fantastic! He totally looked and sounded the part, and everyone loved it. He really made the night fun, and he was such a nice man too. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to celebrate – thanks so much, Lee!

Tara (02 Dec 2024)

Private Event – Function

Very impressed with the response and will keep you in mind for future events.

Paul (06 Nov 2024)

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