About Suits Arts

About Suits Arts

I have been performing for 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.

Suits Arts is Charlie Suits: a saxophonist, woodwind player and arranger working out of Northern Kentucky. I teach private lessons on saxophone, flute and clarinet, run three bands of my own for weddings and events, write horn charts for other people's bands, and give masterclasses and clinics.

What you can count on

• Fifteen years performing and more than fifty bands, across most of the styles you would 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 will not 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 is not limited to what is already published
• Based in Northern Kentucky and playing across the tristate, with a standing Thursday in Newport

Playing with other people's bands

What I do

Where I work

Suits Arts serves Cincinnati, Covington, Newport.

• Cincinnati
• Covington
• 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; you bring the instrument. Most music schools in the Cincinnati area do not publish a rate at all, so if you are comparing, you will usually have to ring them to find out.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.

How much does a band cost for a wedding?

It is quoted, because the honest answer depends on the date, the venue, how long you need the band and how big the band should be for the room. Tell me those four things and you will get a number quickly. National surveys put the median spend on a live wedding band at around $1,900 to $2,050, which is a reasonable frame for what a full band costs anywhere.

How far do you travel?

My regular work is within two to three hours of Cincinnati, which covers the whole tristate. I have played as far north as Pennsylvania and as far south as Mississippi, so further is possible - travel outside the Cincinnati area is quoted with the booking.

What does a book of horn charts cost?

Charts are sold as a book of 40. Wedding bands: three horns $750, four horns $875, five horns $1,000, six horns $1,125. Every other kind of band is 20% less: $600, $700, $800 and $900 for the same books. Tunes up to five minutes are covered by the book rate; anything longer costs more, and I will tell you before I start.

Can you write charts for songs that are not standards?

That is most of the work. If your band plays it, I can chart it, voiced for the horns you actually have rather than for the section on the record. I play these gigs myself, so the parts are written to be read on a Saturday night by somebody who got them on Wednesday.

What is Fast Travel?

A three to seven piece band playing video game music live, with the game footage projected behind the band. Mario, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Sonic, Kirby, Pokemon and a long list besides, arranged for a live band. It suits conventions, breweries, private parties and weddings that want something nobody else in the room has seen.

Can I hire more than one of your groups for the same day?

Yes, and it is common. The small group covers dinner and cocktails, the big band covers the dancing, and it is one booking and one point of contact rather than two.

Do you play regularly anywhere I can come and hear you?

Every Thursday at Sis' on Monmouth in Newport, from 7 PM to 10 PM, with Rick Kinman and Friends. That is the easiest way to hear how I actually play before you book anything.