Charlie Suits
I'm a saxophonist, woodwind player and arranger based in Northern Kentucky, with over fifteen years of experience playing professionally. More than fifty bands, and five years of Jazz Studies at NKU.
I teach saxophone, flute and clarinet, run three bands of my own for weddings and events, and write horn charts for other bandleaders.
Private Music Lessons
Saxophone, flute and clarinet, plus music theory, composition and arranging, in person or online.
About private music lessons →Masterclasses and Clinics
Sessions for school bands, university studios and community groups, built around what your players need.
About masterclasses and clinics →Horn Charts and Arranging
Custom horn charts for working wedding and party bands, priced by horn count and sold in books of 40.
About horn charts and arranging →Composition and Transcription
Original music written to brief, and accurate transcriptions of anything you need on paper.
About composition and transcription →Live Music for Weddings and Events
Suits Big Band: pop and soul from the last fifty years, sized to your room and your budget.
About live music for weddings and events →Fast Travel Video Game Music
A three to seven piece band playing video game music live, with the games projected behind the band.
About fast travel video game music →Jazz Combo for Dinner and Cocktails
A small group for the part of the evening that needs music underneath the conversation.
About jazz combo for dinner and cocktails →My services in detail
Private Music Lessons
Lessons start from what you want to play. I teach students working towards school competitions and auditions, and I teach gigging adults who want to sound better on a Friday night, and those are different jobs. You get the theory and the technique the music in front of you needs, rather than a syllabus worked through for its own sake. I provide every teaching material except the instrument. If you're aiming to perform professionally, private lessons will get you there faster than a group class, because nothing in the hour is spent on somebody else's problem.
- Saxophone, flute and clarinet, all levels
- Music theory, improvisation, composition and arranging
- In person around Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, or online
- $50 for 30 minutes, $75 for 45, $100 for an hour
- All materials provided, just bring the instrument
- I also teach basic choreography for players who have to move on stage
Masterclasses and Clinics
I've given masterclasses on tone production, improvisation, section playing and arranging, and I'd rather build a session around your players than deliver the same talk everywhere. Tell me the group, the level and what's not working, and the class gets built to fit. These are quoted rather than priced from a list, because the two things that move the number are where the class is and how many players are in the room.
- School bands, university studios, community bands and jazz societies
- Tone, improvisation, section playing, composition and arranging
- Quoted on location and class size, tell me both and you get a number
- Sax, flute and clarinet specialties, but the material works for any section
Horn Charts and Arranging
Most bands that add horns end up limited to whatever charts already exist, which is why so many sets sound the same. I write horn parts for the tunes you play, voiced for the players you have. I play in these bands myself, so the charts are written to be read on a Saturday night by people who got them on Wednesday: playable ranges, sensible page turns, and cues where a horn section needs them. Charts are priced at $15 per horn per tune and sold as a book of 40, so a wedding band pays $1,800 for three horns, $2,400 for four, $3,000 for five and $3,600 for six. Every other kind of band is 20% less: $1,440, $1,920, $2,400 and $2,880 for the same books. Tunes up to five minutes are covered by the book rate, and anything longer costs more, and I'll tell you before I start.
- Books of 40 charts at $15 per horn per tune
- Wedding bands: $1,800 for three horns up to $3,600 for six
- Every other kind of band: 20% less
- Tunes up to five minutes included at the book rate
- Written by someone who plays the gig, not only the part
Composition and Transcription
Composition to brief for whatever the project needs, and transcription when the recording is the only source you have. Transcription is a different job from arranging and I price it separately. Tell me the recording, the instrumentation and what the parts are for, and I'll quote it. Everything is delivered as clean, readable parts and a score.
- Original composition to brief
- Transcription from recordings, including horn section lines
- Clean parts and a score, delivered as PDF
- Quoted per project on length and instrumentation
Live Music for Weddings and Events
Suits Big Band plays weddings, private parties and corporate events, with two to three vocalists over bass, drums, keys, guitar and horns. The setlist is built for your event rather than handed to you, the band size flexes to the room, and the band will learn songs specifically for you. Emceeing the evening is included, so you're not hiring a separate host to announce the first dance. Book well ahead to hold a date. Saturdays in season go early.
- 2-3 vocalists with bass, drums, keys, guitar and horns
- Personalized setlist and band size to suit the room
- The band learns songs for you
- Emcee for the event included
- Weddings, private parties and corporate events
- Quoted per event, tell me the date, the venue and the room size
Fast Travel Video Game Music
Fast Travel plays the music people grew up on: Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Sonic, Animal Crossing, Kirby, Chrono Trigger, Kingdom Hearts, Metroid, Minecraft, Undertale, Pokemon and more, arranged for a live band rather than played back off a record. It started as a saxophone and keys duo in Cincinnati sneaking game tunes into wedding dinner sets, and it grew into a band of people who love this music. Fast Travel plays three to seven pieces depending on the room, and the game footage goes up behind the band.
- Three to seven pieces, sized to the venue
- Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Sonic, Kirby, Pokemon and a long list besides
- Video game footage projected behind the band during the show
- Conventions, bars, breweries, private events and weddings
- Arranged for a live band, not backing tracks
Jazz Combo for Dinner and Cocktails
The small group plays jazz, R&B and funk for dinner service, cocktail hours, gallery openings and receptions, the parts of an evening that need music people can talk over without it disappearing. Standards from the Great American Songbook alongside Roy Hargrove, Vulfpeck, Cory Wong, Thundercat, Hiatus Kaiyote, Grover Washington Jr and originals from the band. It scales from a duo up, and it pairs naturally with the big band for a wedding that needs both.
- Jazz, R&B, funk and Great American Songbook standards
- Dinner service, cocktail hours, receptions and gallery openings
- Duo upwards, sized to the room
- Pairs with the big band for a wedding that needs both halves of the day
Who I work with
- Couples planning a wedding
- School and university band directors
- Bandleaders and working bands
- Venues, restaurants and event planners
- Parents and adult beginners
Where I work
Suits Arts plays and teaches around the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area, including: Cincinnati, Covington, Newport.
Where this happens
Live rooms around Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, plus the teaching studio.
Hear the band
Why people book me
- Over fifteen years playing professionally, and more than fifty bands, across most of the styles you'd want at an event
- Five years of Jazz Studies and two of Audio Production at Northern Kentucky University
- Lesson rates published on this site, which most schools around here won't do
- Every band I run is booked and answered by me, not by an agency taking a cut
- I write the horn charts myself, so a band I put together isn't limited to what's already published
- Based in Northern Kentucky and playing across the tristate, with a standing Thursday in Newport
Common questions
What do lessons cost?
$50 for 30 minutes, $75 for 45 and $100 for an hour, for saxophone, flute or clarinet, in person or online. Materials are included, and you bring the instrument. Most music schools in the Cincinnati area don't publish a rate at all, so if you're comparing, you'll usually have to call them to find out.
Do you teach beginners, or only advanced players?
Both. I teach school students working towards competitions and auditions, adults picking an instrument back up, and gigging players who want to sound better on a Friday night. Lessons start from the music you want to play rather than from a fixed syllabus.
Where do you teach?
In person around Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, at the Toedtman School of Music in West Chester, and online. Online lessons work better than most people expect for theory, improvisation and arranging.
Get in touch
I've been playing professionally for over fifteen years and have played with more than fifty bands, from bluegrass and country to jazz, funk, R&B, pop, reggae, ska and metal. I studied Jazz Studies for five years and Audio Production for two at Northern Kentucky University. I teach saxophone, flute and clarinet at the Toedtman School of Music in West Chester and virtually, and I play a standing Thursday night at Sis' on Monmouth in Newport with Rick Kinman and Friends. I still play regularly with The Touchables, Sly Band, Floyd and the Walkmen, The Two Steves and Face Full of Chicken.