Rick Holland Productions

• Rick Holland, Leader, Trumpet - Trumpet
• Evan Dobbins, Co-leader - Trombone

Hello, my name is Rick Holland. I have several groups within my company that play anything from Corporate Events,wedding receptions to Jazz Festivals. We play mostly Jazz and Swing, but recently have expanded our 6 and 10 piece bands to include R&B sets for listening and dancing entertainment. I will be including some pictures and tracks within this web-site. The R&B sets are not recorded as of yet, but will be soon.

My groups range in size from 2 to 11 members.

My groups now feature vocalist Lindsey Holland. Please let me know if I can be of service to you.

Here's what other's have said about us:

By the way-your band is phenomenal! I'm going for my PhD in American studies, and my concentration is in 20th century American popular music, particularly jazz and swing of the '30s and '40s. Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller and the rest of the "big" band leaders would be proud of your leadership and musical skills-the music was so amazing!!!

Take care and thank you again so much! Katie

"Rick brought his quartet and the little big band to our wedding and reception. He was wonderful to work with, being both receptive to our requests and knowing where to fill in the gaps with his expertise. Not to mention I could call him anytime, and he worked around our schedule. They played a tasteful mix of songs great for just listening to and a few that got everyone up on the dance floor. In the end, everyone was raving about how great the band was. We couldn't be happier!" -Sam and Ellie Carrell

P.S. Lindsey was amazing, the two comments I heard most were "Wow, they are great!" and "That girl can sing!"

Rick Holland and his band played our wedding on August 28, 2010. Rick could not have been more accommodating to my husband and my wants and needs for music at the wedding. We communicated through email, over the phone, and met with each other once to go over the details. Rick was very thorough and always set our minds at ease. During our ceremony, his quartet played us up the aisle with a romantic song and down the aisle with ''Fireworks'' which set the mood for the festive evening to begin. The cocktail hour began immediately following the ceremony and Rick''s band did not miss a beat....the little big band entertained guests while they mingled and got a bite to eat. When the wedding party was ready to be announced, Rick took the microphone as we were all introduced. After the speeches were out of the way, Rick and the band let loose! With a full band and two singers, a male and a female, we partied for the next four hours! The guests were dancing, singing, and truly having a great time as did we! The band definitely made the night! The songs were exactly what we requested and the sound quality was superb. I would gladly book Rick and his band for another occasion as well as recommend them.

Thanks again Rick! Erin and Mike Victor, New York 09/2010

CONCERT REVIEW: Rick Holland Uptown Orchestra at Lovin' Cup By Frank De Blase ---- Sometimes it all just falls into place. The setting, the situation, the scene, the tone -- everything's going your way. That describes last night for me. And at the heart of this mid-week Xanadu was the Rick Holland Uptown Orchestra, a modest, brass-centric outfit led by the trumpet-blowing Holland that swung with equal parts effervescence and laid-back cool at Lovin' Cup. And come to find out, five of his Holland's regular guys were sidelined, and the holes on the bandstand were plugged with subs --- hired music muscle like Po' Boy Erik Jacobs on the slide trombone. By the time the Orchestra heaped on a helping of Count Basie, there was nowhere else I wanted to be. I dragged my mom out in the cold for this show and she was thrilled when they stomped on the Savoy. Holland led the affair with a relaxed air, coaxing more than conducting under his porkpie lid. He went around the bandstand numerous times so every cat there got his fair shake, including pianist extraordinaire Bill Dobbins. This is one sweet band, yes, yes.

Thanks so much for your incredible band and performances! All the guests were raving about you guys! Definitely a highlight of our wedding. You helped to make our wedding so very special! Gianine and Jeff, Irondequoit Country Club,Rochester, NY

"There's nothing little about these guys--big sound and big talent. What a great show at Hi Fidelity with a special guest singer Nancy Donnelly. Dean Keller killed on bari--his solo on Nightlights was so beautiful that I had tears, and Evan Dobbins is a monster trombone player. I can't wait to hear these guys again." - Tracy Kroft "Rochester, Scene And Heard

"Just a short note to thank you ever so much for the great show and dance for us here at the HAG. I have waited until today to write this as we had a meeting on Wednesday and it confirmed everything that I told everyone about the upcoming show and dance. As you and the band said this was the first time you have played in a hanger and I must say, the acoustics were awesome and the sounds were great even where I was sitting. Midway through the dance you asked me for a favorite number. At the time I thought you had more than enough on your plate but how in hell did you save the song "At Last" for the very last number. It was the very song I would have requested and it took me back to my Junior and Senior days in high school. Nuf said about that. Yup, I might have had a small tear in my eye, hearing the music, you absolutely took over the song and I thank you so much for it. It made an old Marine so very happy. Again THANK YOU, Ms. KELLY, AND THE BAND SO VERY MUCH FOR A TERRIFIC EVENING. ---Bob 'Sarge' Biron, Chairman of the HAG Memories Show, 2009

" Rick--Your band did a fabulous job and were one of the highlights of our Monsoon Wedding!! We're off to Costa Rica this afternoon and will be humming 'Fly Me To The Moon' and your many fabulous charts in the rainforest! I have told Glen Iris how awesome and fabulous your band was at our reception! Thanks for the great musical entertainment!! Andrew and Kim, NYC

The Uptown Society Orchestra directed by Rick Holland performed at our wedding reception. They did a fantastic job and the music sounded beautiful! I would recommend them for any event in which you want: elegance, class, and a unique sound. They truly made our day special. -Kimberley Krummrey, Battle Creek, Michigan

Everyone thought the Uptown Society Orchestra was great. You did a wonderful job. I will certainly share your music with others! I enjoyed your music so much that I would like to listen to it more. Thank you again for doing an awesome job! Corey Portatlin, Silver Lake, MI Wedding Reception

"When we heard the Uptown Society perform at a New Year's Eve concert we knew that we wanted them to play at our wedding. They had the perfect blend of jazz, swing and romantic ballads. They are excellent musicians and we were thrilled to find that they were available for our wedding. Our guests were thrilled that we hired them; we received so many compliments. Uptown Society provided a wonderful 'soundtrack' for our storybook wedding." Eric and Kim von Oeyen, Battle Creek, MI

From the bride: "The music was wonderful! We could not have asked for a ?better band. Our guests were really impressed; the Uptown Society Orchestra really made our reception special." From the groom: "What a professional group. Their exceptional musicianship brought a real element of class to the party. There's nothing like the sound of a live band, and this group made our reception better than we could have hoped for." From the father of the bride:(Dennis Nowicki): "The band was fantastic -- they really exceeded our expectations." -- Anders Dahlberg and Stacy Nowicki, Wedding at the Chicago Art Museum

Rick Holland is one of my favorite improvisers and has one of the most beautiful flugelhorn sounds I've heard. He creates smooth, fluid, melodic lines, reminiscent of Chet Baker. - Kerry Strayer, Freelance Jazz Artist, Kansas City Mo.

The Uptown Society Orchestra may have had six members, but it sounded as if it had twice as many as members blew triumphantly throughout New Years eve night. (Front page Kalamazoo Gazette, regarding the New Years Eve Festival 2004, Kalamazoo, Michigan) ---Bill Wood, Arts and Entertainment critic, Kalamazoo Gazette

The music by the Uptown Society Orchestra, at Hurd Orchards exceeded our expectations. The ambience was perfect, and we really enjoyed the music. Sharon Garafello, NYC

We loved the music of the UPO, for they played the music of our era perfectly. We enjoyed the band so much, we invited them down to Albany, NY for a follow-up reception for my Son and Daughter in law. My guests loved the band, and we would recommend this group to anyone. Lewis Sperber, Albany, NY

Anniversaries, Bachelor Parties, Bachelorette Parties, Banquets, Birthday Parties, Children's Birthday Parties, Celebrations, Christenings, Christmas Parties, Church Services, Clubs, Community Events, Conventions, Corporate Functions, Dinner Dances, Festivals, Fund Raisers, Funerals, Graduation Parties, Grand Openings, Halloween Parties, Picnic, Private Parties, Proms, Restaurants, Reunions, Weddings, Wedding Ceremonies, Wedding Cocktail Hours, Wedding Receptions...and more.

• Amazing! Rick Holland Productions worked seamlessly with our wedding, where we had three separate "performances" that were adpated to by Rick's use of different members of the Little Big Band. We had a cocktail reception where a trio played, then a brass quartet accompanied our Wedding ceremony. After our guests were transported by horse-drawn carriage to a lake side reception site, the Little Little Big Band got things started and the full Little Big Band played the night away to the extreme pleasure of our entire party. They even let Joe Robinson jam with them in the chill of the autumn, fire-lit eveing! Thank You so much Rick! Sincerely, Matthew Cooper -- Matthew C, Bradford, PA, 10/10/2010
• Rick Holland and his band were tremendous. They gave a unforgettable performance to our evening festivities. This was a fundraiser for our local hospital, Chenango Memorial. The music and the Christmas Themed Silent Auction that we were holding during the evening helped make this one of the most successful events we have held. Thank you so much for coming to Norwich and making this an evening to remember. We will definitely keep Rick Holland Production at the top of our list. -- Kathleen Coates C, Norwich, NY, 11/21/2009
• The band was excellent, there were some breakdowns in communication between the band/caterer/wedding party vis a vis some of the scheduled items but i don't think anyone noticed. I was upset that the one song I requested the band learn in one of my earliest emails was not accommodated but they did play it on an ipod so I guess it worked out ok. They were very nice to let my husband play the bass on a few songs. They must get "my cousin plays whatever" so often but in this case my husband is an accomplished bassist so they let him play. -- Susan M, Pittsford, NY, 7/19/2008

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