jazz for cocktail hour - how much is reasonable

We're looking for a small jazz group to play our cocktail hour, and we aren't sure how much we should expect to pay. I was quoted 1200 by one large company, which sounded ridiculous for one hour. Is $500 reasonable and can anyone tell me how much they paid for similar?

thanks ladies!

It depends on quite a few factors, such as: how large is the group, do they have to travel, do you have any special requests that require them learning new music, etc.
I would expect to pay anywhere between 100-200 dollars per person in the group. If they have to travel, then you can expect to pay a traveling fee. If they are hired through an entertainment company, expect to pay more. I ALWAYS suggest hiring musicians who work for themselves. This way the money is going directly to them and you are not paying overhead. Hope this helps.