Light Jazz

Light Jazz, written «light-jazz» on its own site, is a band from Bern that plays company events, birthdays, funerals and weddings in a range of line-ups, from a solo pianist to a quintet. Its wedding page covers the whole day: the civil ceremony at the registry office or the church wedding, the aperitif, the dinner and, if the couple wants to dance, the party. The styles are jazz, blues, pop and soul, and the bandleader, Francis Lehmann, asks couples to call him to plan it together. The page opens with a line it attributes to Victor Hugo, «Die Musik drückt das aus, was nicht gesagt werden kann und worüber zu schweigen unmöglich ist» (music expresses what cannot be said and about which it is impossible to stay silent), and invites couples to put together their own mix of jazz and groove or pop and soul.

The wedding day as the band plays it

The page describes each stage in a sentence. The ceremony gets selected short musical pieces. The aperitif is framed with atmospheric music for a relaxed mood. For the dinner the band switches to quiet background music so as not to disturb conversations. On request, the party band then gets the wedding guests moving again. Because the band plays in different formations, the page explains, a couple can book it several times in one day and choose the size of the line-up for each part: a small formation at the church, for example, and a bigger one for the dancing.

The line-ups listed in the menu are:

• Pianist
• Duo piano and sax
• Duo piano and vocals
• DJ and sax
• Trio: piano, sax and a third instrument
• Quartet: piano, bass, drums and a fourth
• Quintet

The site has sound samples grouped as jazz and blues, pop and soul, and background music. The band says it enjoys learning new songs, "So zum Bespiel Ihren Lieblingssong oder den Ohrwurm aus der Disko, als Ihr euch kennengelernt habt" (for example your favorite song, or the earworm from the club where you met). Its instruments and sound system are easy to transport, the page adds, unless the couple wants the grand piano.

Working with the Tätschmeister

A good part of the page is about coordination, which is useful for couples who have never planned a Swiss wedding. The band wants to be fully integrated into the day and not miss a cue, so it needs to know who is running the program. The page calls that person the Tätschmeister, which it glosses as Hochzeitskoordinator, the wedding coordinator. The page says the Tätschmeister can give the band the signal to play so that the couple can look after their guests, and that the band can also step in or fill a gap on the spot. It adds, with some humor, that in its years as a wedding band it has seen a few anecdotes and everything has always turned out well.

The page then gives a checklist for the Tätschmeister:

• Space: up to 4 x 5 m depending on the line-up.
• Room size: how big the room is and whether the band plays outdoors; the band has several sound systems for different room sizes and acoustics, and outdoors it needs protection from rain and sun.
• Tuning: if the venue has a grand piano or piano, when was it last tuned?
• Contact and timing: the Tätschmeister's details and a rough time frame for the day.
• Power and storage: a power socket and ideally a storage room for equipment and for changing.

For a better performance it suggests asking whether the venue has a stage the band can use, thinking about lighting (it can help if technical support is needed), and, if a couple wants a grand piano or piano brought to the venue, contacting its partner Rosenbaum AG. It also invites couples to plan special acts such as magicians, readings or a song from the couple themselves, and recommends partners for photography and film.

Booking and contact

The page is direct about booking: "Wir denken, dass es am besten Ist, wenn wir uns persönlich am Telefon absprechen" (we think it is best to talk it through personally by phone), with Francis Lehmann's number, 079 338 58 92. The alternative is the quote form, which produces a guide price. Band management can be reached at 079 252 89 19 or by email through the contact page. The menu also has pages on the band members, prices and terms, and feedback.

What couples say

The wedding page quotes short comments in German from married couples, attributed to Sandra (who married Urs in 2017), Gustav (married to Ira since 2017) and Hildegart (Rainer's wife since 2018). One wrote "Als unser Lieblingslied kam, wurde ich zu Tränen gerührt!" (when our favorite song came on, I was moved to tears), another that the wedding party band was top and gave them the dance of their life, and another that the band already created a good mood at the aperitif, and it only got better. More feedback from other events is on a separate page.

What the wedding page does not settle

The wedding page gives no prices or package figures; those sit on the separate prices and terms page and in the guide quote. It does not say how far from Bern the band travels or whether travel is charged, which matters for a wedding in the Alps or in French-speaking Switzerland. It does not name the musicians on the page itself, or say what exactly the "und ..." in the trio and quartet line-ups adds. The site is in German, and the page says nothing about English or French. An English-speaking couple should ask whether the musicians can take cues and make any announcements in English, particularly if the Tätschmeister is an English speaker.

Who it suits

Light Jazz suits couples marrying in or around Bern who want live acoustic music through the day, with the option to scale up from a pianist at the ceremony to a full band for the party, and whose taste runs to jazz, blues, soul and pop rather than club music. The Tätschmeister checklist makes it easy to brief the venue, even from abroad. The caveats are the German-only site, the phone-first booking style and the lack of detail on travel beyond Bern.