Graham Hardy trumpet and flugelhorn, Paul Edis piano, Paul
Susans bass and Rob Walker drums.
(Review by Jerry).
A brief review
as I am out of practice!
A disappointing,
but not disappointed audience at The Cherry Tree this evening enjoyed fine
food, a first set which was excellent, and a second set which was amazing!
I flunked the
“Name That Tune” test completely in the first set (jazznoramus!), but found at
the interval that I had been enjoying: Long Ago and Far Away, Nica’s Dream, Like Someone in Love, Meditation
and Body and Soul. Apologies for
merely listing these, but I AM out of practice and was preoccupied with the
delightful business of eating (not drinking, I was driver)!
I had noted with
alarm the disappearance of the Monday night Table
d’hote menu but need not have feared: we dined regally on the new “formule”
which is the Á la Carte menu less
20%. Our bill for starters, mains and a bottle of white wine was broadly
similar to the last time we dined here, almost a year ago. And the food was
fabulous! Recent trips enable me to make comparisons: my crispy duck salad starter blew the socks (spice-wise) off anything
I ate in Gerrard Street in London at the weekend while the coley fillet (with chorizo and crispy belly-pork) was as nice a
piece of fish as any I found during our summer in France! Chapeau (hats off) to
the chef!
I scored several
points for tune recognition in the second set which kicked off with Joyspring followed by Boplicity, for which I scribbled “Good
groove” in my notepad (not sure what that means, but it felt good). Next up was
big applause for It Ain't Necessarily So
– an arrangement I’d never heard before which I found later was by Gil Evans.
My scribbled note here (“INTERESTING”) really didn’t do it justice!
Graham Hardy’s
technique with the “plunger” on Black and
Tan Fantasy had the womenfolk weak at the knees, apparently, before we were
drummed into Four by Rob Walker then
a belting and irresistible invitation to Sing,
Sing, Sing! High octane stuff! Order
was briefly restored with God Bless the
Child before a marching finale of Cherokee
and much more applause (the audience was small but vociferous), Wonderful!
It’s my birthday
on Wednesday: I think I’ve had my best present already!
Jerry.
1 comment :
Just to add to Jerry's review, this was one of those nights when the Cherrytree really does get a jazz club feel (with, of course, fantastic food). As one of my companions said during 'Like Someone in Love' it could have been a basement club in New York. Later Graham Hardy and the band got a cool, West Coast sound and when he picked up his mute, it could have been the Cotton Club. What could be better - four fine musicians playing great jazz with the minimum of chat and gourmet eating at the same time. Terrific.
JC
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