Sassafrazz @ The Cherry Tree.

Siobhan Stanley (vcl); Mark Deeks (pno); Peter Morris (bs); John Forster (dms).
(Review by Lance.)

Sassafrazz, I suspect is a new band although no doubt they are all seasoned professionals - perhaps as seasoned as my Warm Salad of Confit Duck and Chorizo Sausage with which I started the evening.

I missed the first number just as Siobhan "Missed the Saturday Dance"  which she struck up with as I arrived. Well, just as they "Crowded the floor" in the song so did the diners crowd the tables both upstairs and down. It was a very good turn out although it has to be said that this was in part due to pianist Mark Deeks who, in a parallel    universe, is involved with the Inspirational Choir at The Sage and several of his choristers had come along in support - I don't think they would have been disappointed.

This was the first time I'd heard Ms. Stanley who has a great voice that can seemingly turn from jazz to soul to blues and back again - barely dropping a beat in the process. Peggy Lee's He's A Tramp, You're So Vain, I Heard it on the Grapevine, Lilac Wine, Feelin' Good just some of the outstanding numbers in the first set.

My only criticism being the lady's need to hold the lead sheet as she sang - I don't imagine that the chef had Delia Smith sitting on his knee as he prepared my Grilled Barnsley Lamb Chop, Squash Gatin and Salas Verde. Still, if it's a new band I suppose it takes time to learn the words and she did sing them very well. Bass and drums were effective without being obtrusive,

The second set got under way with a round of happy birthdays and wedding anniversaries before the serious stuff which kicked off with, I quote, Eva Cassidy's It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That Swing!

Deeks was featured on Summertime before he segued into Fever with some dramatic keyboard flourishes behind the vocal. Paloma Faith's Upside Down, You've Got a Friend, an agonisingly (yet quite beautiful) slow version of The House of the Rising Sun, Learning The Blues, more instrumental fireworks from the grand piano in the form of I Get a Kick Out of You whilst I was getting a kick out of Whisky and Apple Creme Brulee - Biscoti. Autumn Leaves brought us up to 33A bus time so it was with some reluctance that I left missing an original by Deeks entitled Bjork.

This was an enjoyable session and I look forward to catching Sassafrazz again - if only to learn the background to their name!

Next week - Djangologie.

Lance.