Michael Udelson – Pianist

Michael was the pianist at our wedding and did a wonderful job. He’s easy to contact, easy to see play publicly beforehand, very clear about what he does and what will work, and just generally a professional about everything. In the sense that event planning involves finding solutions to a series of challenges, Michael took the music issue off the table for us after a very brief exchange of views. Very glad we hired him.

Michael Udelson was absolutely phenomenal at our wedding on August 25, 2012 in Napa Valley and I am happy to recommend him with 100% confidence. iI you are looking for an amazing pianist for any occasion, Michael is your man! My now husband and I listened to Michael play at the Four Seasons hotel in San Francisco one Saturday night and we were hooked after 2 songs. We knew that very evening that we wanted definitely wanted to secure his time to play at our wedding and luckily he was available! What other pianist have you come across that can play Bach and Mozart as well as Lady Gaga and Guns N’ Roses?! Michael can honestly play anything and he does it absolutely beautifully!
We spoke to Michael the evening we went to hear him at the hotel and were so impressed as Michael is not only a phenomenal pianist but he is also an incredibly nice guy. While many of my wedding vendors were complicated to work with, Michael was SO simple. He committed to the date shortly after checking his schedule, asked for a small deposit and showed up to our wedding professionally dressed, on time, and looked to just genuinely ENJOY practicing his craft. He didn’t prod us with a million emails or questions… he just made our life simple when it came to music and with all the other balls we had up in the air on the wedding day it was just so nice to know Michae was just going to do what he does best without much handholding from us! Our guests raved about his piano playing and it was just such a treat to have him at our big day!
As Michael was about to depart the wedding he came up to us and sincerely thanked us for allowing him to be a part of the day and we just appreciated that so much! Again, I wish I could give Michael more than 5 stars. His brilliant talent coupled with his warm and kind personality is rare to come across in the wedding industry. Book him and you won’t regret it!

My sister got married in Tiburon this June and the string quartet she hired to play during her ceremony called 2 NIGHTS before her wedding and canceled. She had to scramble to find someone last minute, and thank goodness she found Michael. He was easy to work with and since everything was so last minute and they were unable to meet ahead of time he played several songs for her over the phone as they talked out what would be played during the ceremony. He was extremely accommodating and professional. And, best of all, everyone loved him. A horrible situation turned out to be a great thing thanks to Michael. He played Such Great Heights by the Postal Service for the processional (which I think he may have learned per her request just a day ahead of time). He also played several Coldplay and Beatles songs. It was a pleasure to listen to and he did a fabulous job. Thank you Michael!

I cannot say enough great things about this man! AMAZING PIANO PLAYER! He is a top notch piano player. He was contacted on short notice to play at my parent’s anniversary party. He was easy to work with, a consumate professional and so very nice and outgoing. He made the party so much more classy with his background piano playing. He didn’t know a thing about any of the people at the party but read them well by playing the perfect music. He has a wide selection of music that he plays and every song was just right. He was extremely easy to work with and I felt as if he was there just to make sure that the party was a success, which it was, and a lot had to do with the beautiful piano music all night and his total support in working with me in making sure the party was a huge success. All night the guests were coming up and asking where we got the piano player from and many compliments ensued. He is a gracious man with huge talent. I would strongly recommend him to play at ANY event you may have. I can guarantee you that you won’t be sorry. Once again, I cannot say enough great things about him. There aren’t enough adjectives to describe how gifted this man is.

We had Michael play for a Birthday party last weekend, and he was just *great*!
Christine sings and I play Upright Bass in a Quartet doing Jazz Standards & Bossa Novas. Our other musicians weren’t available, so we hired Michael to help us. Christine’s singing never sounded so good, and she attributed it all to Michael and his smooth, rock-​solid playing. For me, it was like a lesson with a pro, with Michael passing me supportive hints throughout the night… he’s so easy to work with. The 3 of us, including Michael, had a great time, and sounded like we had played together for years, rather than just meeting. I know the people at the party will be talking about the fun time they had for weeks.
Thanks, Michael… Lyle

For my wife’;s birthday, I asked my friend Lyle R. if he could put together a small band for the event and play some Jazz & he did come up w/​an amazing trio.
Lyle hired Michael Udelson on keyboards, Christine J. on the lyrics and himself on the base. The trio together played some amazing tunes from Cole Porter to Gershwin, to R’n’B to Bossa Nova and they just completely stole the night !
Listening to Michael’s keyboards was easy to recognize that he is a professional keyboard player and an entertainer that knows how to ‘read’ the audience and play for them exactly what they want to listen. Add to that Christine’s amazing vocals, esp when singing Jobim, Bonfa etc in Portuguese together w/​the Lyle’s amazing fusion base playing, leadership and orchestration, nobody wanted to go…
The trio was passionate, caring, a very creative that knew exactly how to absorb everyone’s attention at the party. Michael in particular, had such a breath of repertoire and his awareness, adaptiveness to the event & wisdom of playing makes him a true all-​star. Highly recommended.
Thanks, Christine, Michael & Lyle

5 stars is not enough for Michael…
…April, 2011. It’s the Monday before our wedding, which is on Saturday. Stressful times, but feeling like things are falling into place. Then the e-​mail from my band guy saying his keyboard player cannot play the piano during cocktail hour as planned… oh great, this is what I needed.
Full panic mode ensues as I need to find a piano player ASAP. Find Michael on Unilocal… all the reviews are great, but what are the chances he’s available and will do it on such short notice? Oh well, give it a shot.
Michael returns my call right away. I tell him what’s going on, and expecting to hear «sorry, need more notice, etc.» But instead, I get a calm, reassuring response. I immediately feel like Michael understands the bind I’m in, and now the two of us are a team trying to find a solution…
Although Michael has a regular gig at one of the best hotels in the city and a lot of special events, he is available on Saturday (clouds start to part… is that a ray of sunshine?)…it’s actually Michael’s only day off before he goes on vacation, but he really seems like he wants to help. Wow, this might just work out.
Then we get to price… uh oh, I think. He’s got all the leverage here and I’m going to get taken to the cleaners. I throw out an amount that is higher than what I had planned on, but an amount I can deal with, and wanting to make sure I am making it worth his while. Then Michael replies, «I don’t really need that much.» Wow. We agree on an amount that I find to be extremely fair.
So there’s that big, long story, and I didn’t even mention Michael’s piano playing, which was fantastic… a true professional in every sense.
Highly recommend!!!

Michael played my wedding in July and we got so much great feedback from our guests. We had gone to «interview» Michael at the Four Seasons in SF where he regularly plays and we knew we were fans, but to have our guests raving about his repertoire was pretty cool.
I also have to give Michael huge props for accommodating our ceremony and reception being in two different places, in Sonoma, on a race weekend. Michael showed up early, was ready to play, got his equipment moved to our reception site with no trouble, and created the memorable ambiance we really wanted our wedding guests to experience. Thanks Michael!

Michael performed at my January 30^th wedding, and I cannot recommend him strongly enough. He was great to deal with during the planning process and cheerfully learned a new piece of music for our ceremony. These things, combined with the fact that he was very modestly priced, convinced me to book him for our event.
Our wedding reception was an intimate cocktail party and Michael was a perfect addition, playing a combination of standards and the funky modern pop and rock selections that are something of a trademark for him. His music choices were spot on, and he happily took requests from my guests. Nearly everyone in attendance commented on how great he was!
If you’re looking for a pianist for your wedding, this is your man! He was so much nicer than anyone else I interviewed and his playing was great, I’m so happy we went with him.

This is a very late review. I am so sorry Michael.
My wedding was on June 20^th and Michael performed my ceremony music. Words can’t really describe how beautiful the music was. EVERYONE commented on how pretty the music was.
I requested «River Flows in You» by Yiruma 1 – 2 weeks before my wedding. He did not know this piece, but learned it. AMAZING! He played it perfectly. I can’t express how much I thank him for that.
I would strongly recommend to anyone to use Michael for a wedding or any event you have.

Michael played piano for our wedding and he was terrific! He knows a ton of tunes and played whatever we requested for the ceremony and party (including an old Elvis song, «Can’t Help Falling in Love»). He’s super-​nice and communicates well, very professional yet relaxed. You can tell he really loves playing piano but is low-​key about it, so he adds to making the occasion very special without needing to be in the spotlight. Message me if you need a personal reference because I can’t say enough good things about having Michael play at our wedding!

If you are looking for an AMAZING piano player, look no further! Not only is Michael super talented and creative, but he is SO easy to work with and incredibly understanding. Plus you can tell that music is his passion by how much pride and professionalism he has for his career. He can read a crowd and play the perfect song they didn’t know they wanted to hear (You will literally hear people say «Is he playing Green Day?») and improve the mood of any audience. He is a party starter for sure!
Anyone can DJ. You need this awesome piano player to make your event a night to remember! (He plays a mean U2, too!)