John Ragusa is fabulous. He knows the music industry inside out, and he did a great job helping me and my now husband to find the perfect band for our wedding. I highly recommend him.

Wow. We were just so delighted by your performances -- on the night of the wedding musically, but also for your patience and good communication, your willingness to learn new material, your good taste and ability to tailor your performance that night to our wishes. John Ragusa's communication with us was always good-natured and responsive. You were spot on. Eugene's Trio played almost the whole night non-stop. The processional was so well done, I wish I had an audio recording. Our little dance keeps going around and around my head. Magical. And thanks for playing Golden Lady. I won't forget it. We love music and cared a lot about it being appropriate and meaningful. And it was. Eugene, you and your mates are very talented. I will write a formal note of thanks and recommendation to Stone Barns.

Thanks to John, my daughter's wedding was perfect. The band he provided for the ceremony and cocktail hour was just what my daughter wanted and set the tone for the festivities. And the DJ during the reception was fabulous. I had heard a lot about DJs who take over the reception, play the music too loudly, and act like the master of ceremonies. We made it clear in our first talk with John that this was NOT what we wanted, and he absolutely got it. He matched us with the perfect DJ, who played our selections at the right moment and understood what music was needed when. We had a real cross section of ages at the party, and so many of our guests complimented me on the music. The dance floor was packed at all times; what better recommendation could you have?

I can't say enough great things about John! Not only did he help us find the perfect cocktail hour band but he matched us with the perfect dj as well. The info session we had before the wedding was so much fun! I walked in with just an idea of what kind of music I wanted for the band (20's jazz) and he had so many different options and variations. The band he provided was the perfect fit and I received so many compliments from our guests. The DJ was just as great, he managed to make my random hodge podge of country music, irish music, jazz standards and classic rock sound like the perfect soundtrack. We honestly couldn't have pulled off such a successful night without John's help! He is the consumate professional, flexible and instructive. He really helped us not only decode the whole wedding music thing, but also helped us complete the vision that we wanted for "our day". Can't recommend him enough!

John: Thank you so much for making my son and daughter in law's wedding that much more special. The musicians you sent to the church were astonishing in every respect and added so much to the beauty of the ceremony. They played the music that the kids chose to perfection! They were both obviously highly accomplished, classically trained musicians. As if they weren't great enough....the trio you had at the reception was OUTSTANDING! They played a wide variety of standards and helped to create a beautiful ambiance during the cocktail hour. You really delivered my friend! Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart...Monty Delaney

Working with John was nothing short of a joy. He made the process of choosing an appropriate band not only easy, but truly enjoyable during an otherwise stressful time of wedding planning. Both my husband and I felt that John really listened to what we had to say, and provided us with a fantastic array of musicians for us to work with. In the months before the wedding, John and his team made every effort to make sure we were comfortable with the song selections and were extremely accommodating to our preferences. Everyone had a blast dancing at the reception, and we still continue to get compliments about the band's rendition of "La Vie En Rose" for our first dance. We hope to work with John and his team again in the future!

John was amazing! Completely accommodating and unbelievably attentive to all of our needs. Unfortunately, since I only plan on getting married once, I will need to find another event to hire him again! 5 Stars all the way around!

I am so glad John Ragusa Music provided music for our wedding. Literally everyone raved about how great our band was. John was super patient and friendly when helping us decide between bands. He is very knowledgable and represents amazing artist who are passionate about what they do.The band that we went with was incredible - the music was incredibly vibrant and fun and they were also a great group of guys who exuded positive energy. My husband and I very much hope another party soon -- and we plan to use John Ragusa and our wedding band again!

John Ragusa provided the music for my wedding ceremony & cocktail hour. My husband is part Indian and we wanted to pay tribute to his family by playing traditional sitar & tabla music at our ceremony. John suggested a wonderful sitar player, Neel Murgai. After listening to Neel's music, we asked John if he could help us arrange for the Neel Murgai Quartet to play through our cocktail hour. John was extremely helpful and made this happen. The music for both ceremony & cocktail were quite extraordinary. One guest described the music as "celestial." John provided an overall vision for the ceremony and cocktail music, as well as a complicated logistical segue between the two. I would recommend John highly, especially if you are looking for something subtle and perhaps a little unconventional. I also found John to be reasonable and negotiable on costs. I would not hesitate to use his services again. I had two very small quibbles that I should probably mention, though I hesitate to do so because I enjoyed working with John very much. I felt that John's staff was not nearly as attentive or flexible as John, and sometimes we had to involve John directly to get things done. Because John is so prompt and helpful, this was not really a problem, but it accounts for some of my "4" ratings. And, the other issue was admittedly very specific to our situation: our Indian quartet required setting up platforms and special rugs, a task that John and his staff gave us some pointers about but otherwise did not help us with. I am genuinely not sure if this was within his purview or if every agent would have required us to do the same, but at the time, it felt like it would have been nice for John and his staff to help with the quartet's set-up a bit more actively. That said, we are enormously grateful to John for his incredible guidance and for the beautiful wedding music that his vision made possible. Thank you, John!

I had the pleasure of having John Ragusa Music be part of my wedding this past June. He is by far one of the most honest and professional individuals I had the pleasure of working with. He met with me numerous times before the wedding to find the most perfect band that would set the tone and create the mood I was attempting to convey. Music to me was such an integral part of our wedding and I could not have a found a better partner in crime than I did in John. We sat for hours in his office listening to different bands until l found the perfect band that suited our needs. John even drove 1 1/2 hours out of NY city so he can see my venue and see what acoustics the space required since they were new to having such large events. John listened to my every concern and more importantly, helped me find the perfect band even when I myself was not sure what I was looking for. John has an incredible ear for both music and for listening to his client's needs and I realized very early on that he understood exactly the mood I was hoping to create for that day/evening, which put me very much at ease. I knew from beginning I was in good hands with John and trusted him inexplicably. With John's guidance, we chose the Kasbah band, a band that sounds like, if not better-- than the Gypsy Kings. I wanted a band that was different from the 'typical' wedding band, and they were the perfect match. Both during cocktail hours and the reception, our guests came over to us several times commenting on how astounding the band was. The ceremony was flawless with the addition of a violin player and John playing the flute. Absolute perfection. Both John Ragusa and his band were the ideal and perfect match for our venue and wedding theme and I could never have done it without John's patience and guidance. I am so thankful he was part of our most special day and cannot wait to find some reason, any reason-- to use him once again!

John was extremely accomodating and attentive, and he made this part of planning our wedding so stress free. He listened to what we wanted for the event, and then presented choices in each area so we could choose exactly the performers we wanted. The bands/groups we selected were fantastic, and absolute professionals. John and his team were quintessential professionals, and a pleasure to deal with. The music at our wedding was fantastic, and a real highlight of the day.

We were referred to John Ragusa by our wedding venue and couldn't have been happier with the results. Overall the process was a pleasure, and all of our guests enjoyed the band at our wedding! John spent several hours meeting with us in person and talking over the phone in order to understand what was important to us and what we wanted to have as music for our wedding. Although my fiance and I had a general idea of what we wanted (and did not want), John helped us to grow and articulate our ideas so that we could choose the artist that worked best for us. He was immediately responsive to all of our requests and questions. We were also provided us with music samples online that made it easy for us to listen at home and share with our families to get their input.

John Ragusa is an extremely difficult vendor to work with. He had ideas about what will work best and imposes his thoughts onto you. John does not listen well to clients needs and presumes his reputation will mean you automatically work with him. John certainly does not put the client first. Forwarned is forearmed with John. Use his company at your peril.

John Ragusa provided a beautiful trio for my wedding - We met with John several times to discuss our vision and listen to artist samples. The group made a great effort to meet all of our special requests for our big day! They played the entire night and truly helped to set the tone for a special evening!

If I could give John Ragusa 0/5 I would rate them that. Overpriced, pushy, a lot of musicians are 'old and grey', do not listen to what music you actually want, do not ask many fact finding questions to determine the venue/layout/flow of the wedding and 'product push' to maximize the amount they can get from you. btw, if you actually want to speak to John, be mindful you need to call before 4pm...he keeps 'relaxed hours'.

We worked with John on aisle and reception music for our small wedding. He invited us to his office, where we listened to several musicians in the genre that we preferred (classical and jazz guitarists). We found an amazing duo that gave us an excellent rendition of a song we wanted for our wedding ceremony, as well as very good covers of Gypsy King songs during the reception. The rates for these musicians are about standard for high-quality wedding music, and we were very happy with the results.

My wife and I could not have been happier with John's services at our wedding. He was extremely helpful and flexible when we were deciding on the size of the band and type of music we preferred. At the wedding itself, the performance of our 4 string band was fantastic. We really could not have been more pleased. Their performance added to our experience and we would recommend John without reservation.

We met with John to describe the music we wanted for our wedding, he listened to all our feedback and matched us up with the perfect musician for our wedding! We were so pleased with the professionalism and level of talent!

We cannot recommend John Ragusa highly enough. We reached out to John much closer to the wedding than is typical, but John was extremely patient and flexible in helping us find exactly what we wanted (and we weren't really sure what we wanted when we first approached him). Despite being obviously talented and accomplished, John never tried to push anything on us -- he just listened (to our music preferences and budget) and offered suggestions. We ultimately settled on the Steve Benson Trio. After choosing the musicians, we then set about selecting music. We wanted to leave the vast majority of the song selection to the band, but just to get a sense of what we we'd be interested in, the band sent us their extensive repertoire, and told us that they could probably learn a song or two in the month or so before the wedding. We got back to them on the songs and genres we liked and optimistically asked for 5+ additional songs -- all of which the band learned and played. As for the music itself, well, in a word, it was extraordinary. Over a year later, and our guests still talk about how great the trio was. The selections, arrangements, sequencing and volume could not have been better. The music was never overbearing in a fairly small room and was really just lovely. Everything was literally perfect. We are looking forward to working with John again!

If you are looking for the perfect music for your ceremony or reception, use John Ragusa. He listened to what I had in mind, we sat together and listened to music samples for a bit to see what I was connecting with, and then he worked within my budget and reception site limitations (no more than 3 musicians) to find a band that was just right. People still tell me how much they loved the music at my reception. Very highly recommended!

John was professional, extremely helpful and most importantly, provided the most amazing, exciting and beautiful music services. Fantastic product from a really nice guy who was accommodating (even when I was not!) and superb at what he does.