LIVERPOOL — Earlier this year, in April new owners Allan and Rosie Lavelle took over the business at Maggie’s Trackside Diner, at 214 Oswego St., catty corner to Heid’s.
Now that the culinary couple have the grill churning out the grub like daily clockwork, Rosie’s Trackside Diner will host an overdue ribbon-cutting at 8 a.m. Monday, Sept. 26.
To celebrate the grand opening Allan and Rosie are offering a breakfast special that day. For just $5.99, you can feast on two pancakes, two eggs and two types of meat, all for less than six bucks!
The Trackside continues serving a wide variety of luncheon entrees, too, everything from BLTs to tuna melts, Philly steaks and Reubens, nine variations of burgers and, of course, fried haddock on Fridays. The diner’s open from 7 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Wednesday through Monday, but they’re closed every Tuesday.
Take-out is always available and the Lavelles also look forward to doing some catering; 315-802-6696; rosiestracksidediner.com.
London songbird soaring
With a crystalline voice inspired by none other than Ella Fitzgerald, London jazz singer Cherise Adams-Burnett makes a spectacular film debut fronting a hot combo in the popular movie, “Downton Abbey: A New Era.” The 26-year-old Cherise is a second-generation descendant of Jamaican grandparents.
Set in 1928, the new film is a sequel to 2019’s “Downton Abbey,” which itself was inspired by the award-winning British historical television drama which ran for six seasons.
Costumed in a sparkling blue gown accented by blue beads, blue elbow-length gloves and a blue feathered hat piece, Cherise wildly entertains in two different scenes, one on a sunny afternoon and another after dark.
‘Crazy Rhythm’
Emmy Award-winning Scottish composer John Lunn – a former jazz bassist and musical director of the movie – chose three can’t-miss Jazz Age standards for Cherise to vocalize, and she gave them her all.
Backed onscreen by four unidentified Black musicians, Cherise makes “Crazy Rhythm” a tour de force of pulsating phrasing in a remarkably high register.
For her next number, Cherise dials the clock back to 1919 with “The Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives to Me,” an endlessly clever song by lyricist Arthur Swanstone.
After the sun sets, Cherise slows things down a bit with “Am I Blue,” a song which actually debuted in 1929 performed by Ethel Waters in the movie “On with the Show.”
Four white studio musicians who do not appear in the film made the music: guitarist Pete Callard, pianist Chris Egan, bassist Chris Hill and saxophonist Martin Williams. The reedman and pianist especially shine as they take leads on “Crazy Rhythm.”
Now with her career in full flower, Cherise Adams-Burnett is being introduced to audiences worldwide in “Downton Abbey: A New Era.” Released in mid-spring, the film is approaching $100 million in box office, streaming and rental receipts, which means that millions of viewers are seeing and hearing Cherise for the first time.
Wisely, she looks to classic jazz icons for inspiration.
“I would have never thought I’d be cast in ‘Downton Abbey,’” she said. “I tried to channel the energy of Josephine Baker, a notable rebel of her time and even today with my own soul music, I try to channel her individuality, fun and flare.”
Since graduating from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music in 2017, Cherise has performed at many of England’s most prestigious venues and festivals. Shortly before she earned her conservatory degree, Cherise took a British Airways trip to the Mardi Gras in New Orleans where she got a real feeling for the roots of the music.
Back home in London, she regularly performs with London’s Palace Avenue Dance Orchestra, an authentic and highly swinging 13-piece dance band that performs transcriptions and arrangements of music recorded during the 1930s.
