Claire Kelly Quartet @ The Cherry Tree

Claire Kelly (vcl); Stuart Findon (ten); Mark Williams (gtr); Andy Champion (bs).

There are many skills in life that I have yet to acquire and one of these is dealing with Grilled Gambas. These monsters of the deep come encased in a shell that would do credit to an Armadillo making the consumption of the delicacy a skill that can only be acquired through years of practice. It is worth the effort though as, when served with Piri Piri Butter and Garden Leaves, it is a very tasty starter indeed.

Also very tasty tonight was Ms Kelly in a gown that matched the backdrop.

Lots of good tunes including; All or Nothing at All; I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face (duo with Mark); Stella By Starlight; Love me or Leave me; I'm Beginning to See the Light, Benny Golson's Whisper Not and my favourite Jobim song - Aqua de Beber.

For my main course I opted for Pork Loin with Stewed Peppers, Olives and Fondant Potatoes. The Stewed Peppers were appropriate as, on stage, Stu Findon was blowing tenor like Art Pepper occasionally did. Both were very digestible!

After the interval, things moved up a gear. The balance was better and, with the old Sinatra favourite At Long Last Love, the swinging became serious and with Andy and Mark who needs a drummer?

Blackberry Tart and Almond Ice Cream was cool and so was Blossom Dearie's Rhode Island is Famous For You. The Cherry Tree, of course, is famous for good food and good music and tonight was no exception although next time I'll start with soup!

Photos.

Lance.