Life as a Pianist in London
There are a lot of pianists in London and this great city was the starting point for Eugene Portman’s career as a musician. Firstly he worked as a dance accompanist for the Royal Ballet School, before moving on to pursue a more performance orientated form of work. Finally, he started to get more and more involved in the jazz world. This form of work started to take him outside London more and more. Before long his work as a pianist was taking him to Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Berkshire and even further afield.
The Early Days
From an early age Eugene has always showed a keen interest in the piano. If there was a pianist playing anywhere he would, if possible, go over to them and stare at their fingers as they moved effortlessly of over the keyboard. He started taking formal lessons when he was eight with Brendan Murray and learned music by all the great classical masters. This gave him a sound technique which was useful for when he started to get involved in jazz and improvisation.
The Music
Eugene’s main musical interests lie within jazz, swing and blues. The word ‘jazz’ often put’s people off, but you will find that his jazz piano style is easy on the ear. His main influences are keyboard giants such as Oscar Peterson, George Shearing, Erroll Garner and Dudley Moore. Over the years there have been many other musical influences such as Ben Webster, Stan Getz, Ella Fitzgerald and Jimmy Smith.
Eugene has an incredible amount of talent as a soloist and seems to make the art of playing solo jazz appear easy. There are hundreds of keyboard players around who can play in a band, but playing solo is a completely different story. His classical training and influences has ensured that his music is full of surprises.
As a classical pianist he has a wide repertoire covering many of the great masters. This enables him to play anything from just a few short pieces for a wedding ceremony to a full evening of Debussy, Bach, Albeniz, Chopin and Schubert. Being a professional Eugene puts a great deal of time and effort.in practicing his craft every day.
So What About Other Styles
For weddings it is important to be able to play many different styles including rock, ragtime, Latin, classical and even sing-a-long. Please ask if you have a favourite piece that you would like to be played during your wedding ceremony.
More recently there has been a big demand for sing-a-long pianists, which goes down very well at any event including very formal ones. The interest initially seemed to start in the London then reached out to Essex and Hertfordshire. Then inquiries started to come in from Kent, Sussex and Surrey. The whole thing then mushroomed and to started to spread to Hampshire, Berkshire and the rest of the UK
If you are thinking of organising a Cockney evening, all you have to do is provide some good hearty voices. Please see sing-along page for more details.
So How Much Will it Cost?
Prices are from £260 for a solo pianist in the Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Essex, Hampshire, Hertfordshire and Berkshire areas. Obviously, he has to charge more if he has to travel a long way, but he always tries to keep prices competitive. Please feel free to contact him for a quote for other areas.
No Piano: No Problem
Eugene can bring along his Yamaha P-155 digital piano if there is no suitable instrument available at the venue. The Yamaha P-155 has exceptional sound quality and portability. The instrument can easily be moved around the venue and can even be set up outside. Please note that there is no additional cost for the use of this piano.
How to Book
Booking is quite easy- all you have to do is fill in the QUOTE FORM. When filling in the form please make sure let me know where the event is going to take place. If you haven’t actually booked a venue then an area such as Surrey, New Forest, Essex etc.
Please fill in the form HERE to get a quote for your event.
The “Frequently Asked Questions” page has answers to many queries.
Piano Teaching
Eugene has now started teaching jazz, blues and other forms of popular music. Please see my piano teaching page.
Eugene can also cover the following areas as well as the other regions mentioned on this site:
West Country, South East England, Isle of Wight, Rutland, Huntingdonshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire , Lancashire, Yorkshire, Northumberland, Cumbria, Merseyside , Middlesex, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, West Yorkshire, Manchester, Wales, East Anglia and Durham.