Live Music for Corporate Events, and the Show That Follows

The Gentry Band is a trio that plays the front of the evening. Arrivals, drinks, dinner, the hour where people are still finding each other. By the time the bass player steps out from behind the bass, the room already belongs to him, and the evening becomes something else.

The bandleader opens for himself

Gentry leads the trio on bass. He is also a working corporate mentalist. So the act that plays your reception and the act that holds the room afterward are the same person, and the handover costs you nothing, because there is no handover.

What the trio plays

Jazz-led, with improvisation and low-volume elegance as the default, and recognizable Top 40 material reinterpreted instrumentally when the room wants something familiar. The energy comes up when you want it up, and requests are welcome when the moment suits them.

The audience is in the band

This is not the kind of jazz evening where the room is expected to sit still and stay quiet, and it is not background music either. The audience is part of what happens. A guest gets handed a percussion instrument and joins the trio. Someone names a photograph, a mood or a passing thought, and the band interprets it on the spot. Some nights the room plays music roulette: the key, the chord changes and the style are chosen by popular vote, and then the musicians make it happen live.

It is an evening at the Village Vanguard or the Blue Note, except the people at the tables are shaping what the band does next.

And then the bass player reads their minds.

How far any of that goes is your call. Say the word and the trio plays a straight, elegant background set all night.

How the evening runs

Music through arrivals and dinner, at a volume people can talk over. Then, for events that want it, the music gives way to close-up mind reading around the tables or a featured set on the stage. The video on this page walks through a full run of show.

One booking, not two

Refined musical atmosphere with the flexibility to evolve as the evening unfolds, without adding another vendor. One contract, one arrival time, one sound check, one invoice.

Live music questions, answered

What kind of music does the band play?

Jazz-led, with improvisation and low volume as the default, and recognisable Top 40 material reinterpreted instrumentally when the room wants something it knows.

How many musicians are in the band?

Three. A trio, led by Gentry on bass.

Can the music stay in the background?

That is what it is built for. Low volume, conversation intact. The energy rises when you want it to and not before.

Does the mentalism have to be part of the booking?

Not at all. The trio works as a straight music booking. The mentalism is there for evenings you want to build to something, and it can be decided late.

Where does the band perform?

Based in Philadelphia, working New Jersey and New York City.

How far in advance should we book?

There is no minimum lead time. If the date is on your calendar, ask about it.

For mentalism at an evening event without the band, see corporate mentalism for receptions and dinners. To check a date, get in touch.