Real music, real instruments

Not every party or wedding calls for a full orchestra. Ted Knight leads a variety of specialized combos to suit any occasion. Click images to enlarge.

The Ted Knight Quartet plays a mix that starts with jazz but can also include a variety of other styles. The group includes features tenor sax with bass, drums, and piano or keyboard, real instruments playing without recorded backgrounds. Ted sings, and additional vocalists are also available.

Add trumpet to get The Ted Knight Quintet. They can play jazz like the quartet but can can also play the orchestra's arrangements, adapted for two horns instead of four. The quintet has a CD called Beautiful Love, recorded in 2006.

Also see The World's Smallest Big Band.

 See the combos song list and hear demos, including live recordings from weddings and parties as well as cuts from the quintet CD.

New Orleans style

The Dixie Ramblers are a traditional New Orleans style group that plays Dixieland jazz with a beat for dancing. The full band includes trumpet, trombone, clarinet, piano, bass and drums. The group is also available as a strolling trio with trumpet, banjo and tuba.

Songs include Tiger Rag, Muskrat Ramble, and When the Saints Go Marching In as well as Roaring Twenties favorites like Ain't She Sweet and I Can't Give You Anything But Love.

The repertoire also includes Scott Joplin ragtime, 1890s waltzes, and big band standards like Sunny Side of the Street.

Duos, trios and more

The Ted Knight Trio consists of piano, bass and drums with vocals, a traditional combination that's appropriate for any occasion. Above left, Ted with bassist EdDeMatteo and drummer Kevin Campfield.

A duo or trio is often the right choice to play for a party, or for cocktails at larger affairs before the full band begins. At left is Ted with guitarist Bob Hanni. Ted and Bob played for St. Patrick's Day at a luxury condominium in Gulf Stream, and have played for corporate gigs in Aventura, Key Largo, Palm Beach and Naples.

At right is Ted with saxophonist Ray Oram. He and Ted have played together for more than twenty years. This smooth-as-silk guy is the same one who was the sax man of choice for rock and roll record dates in Philadelphia in the 1950s and 60s. Put Ted together with Bob and Ray, or with other musicians such as Paul Magersuppe on sax, and you can mix and match a wonderfully versatile trio.

Knight Music can also refer other groups such as German oom-pah bands and mariachi bands. For details, call or email Marie Knight.