Dean Stockdale Trio @ The Cherry Tree Restaurant, Jesmond.

Dean Stockdale (pno); Neil Harland (bs); Keith Hill (dms).
(Review by Lance - photo courtesy of Viv Williamson).

A fairly routine day at the office type gig with a few sound hiccups re the mic and the overall balance. Nevertheless, God Bless The Child (who's got his own - mic?) got things rolling with Stockdale digging deep into his blues flavoured bag of musical tricks. Meanwhile, I was digging deep into the Chef's bag of culinary delights in the form of King Prawn & Scallop with Garlic, Chilli and Coriander, with Spiced Focaccia. 

Softly as in a Morning Sunrise had a nice easy lilt to it whilst All Blues simply floated. The pianist had more attempts  at  announcing  but  the  mic was in a temperamental mood which isn't a cue for a song! Wave went down  the  bossa  road  and  The Nearness of You  coincided  with  the arrival  of  my Pan  Fried  Chicken Supreme with Butterbeans, Pancetta and Chorizo.

One Note Samba didn't quite cut it for me. The drums tended to be a little too prominent and the piano not prominent enough plus an unusual take on the middle eight. This was probably due to my position in a corner seat getting a distorted sound picture - memo to be sat in my usual seat diagonally opposite under the stairs. 

Bye Bye Blackbird, hello Pan Perdu, Red Wins and Poached Pear. This Can't Be Love - you better believe it! One spoonful and I was  entrapped.

Despite the problems it was a good set that seemed to be appreciated by a fair smattering of folk on both floors.

Lance.