Bird Lives @ The Cherry Tree. Mark Toomey Quartet

Mark Toomey (alt), Jeremy McMurray (pno), Peter Ayton (bs), Dave Donnelly (dms).

Bird lived tonight at the Osborne Rd. eatery when Mark Toomey opened up with Parker's Mood. His blues drenched alto effecting the resurrection of the spirit of Charlie Parker.

Yardbird may have been raised but no such good fortune befell my Fried Quail's Egg as it sat nicely atop my Corned Beef Hash Cake prior to being devoured. By the time Mark had reached his third chorus of Stella By Starlight it was sunk without trace apart from the pleasing vibes from my taste buds.

There Will Never Be Another You (Ewe?) was the perfect background to a Marinated Lamb Steak, Grilled Aubergine & Spiced Red Lentils main course that lingered long after the last succulent morsel had gone. Jeremy's piano choruses on What Is This Thing Called Love had a similar lasting effect.

East of the Sun - shone - It's You Or No One did too.

I can think of few better combinations than Pistachio & Apricot Tart with Chantilly Cream and the MTQ playing Night in Tunisia. The two complement each other perfectly.

It was a night of good music and good food.

Only one minor quibble Mark's announcements weren't very clear so I missed out on the titles of his originals and, because of the nature of the venue, perhaps introducing the players is better done at the end of the set rather than at the beginning where the diner's priorities are in deciding whether to go for the Watercress and Endive Salad or the Scottish Smoked Salmon with Rye Bread and Lemon starter rather than wondering who's on bass.

However, that's just me being 'picky'.

Lance