Richard Rodney Bennett/Pizza on the Park

Richard Rodney Bennett and singer Claire Martin have been co-hosting evenings of show tunes, cabaret music, standards etc at Pizza on the Park for several years now. Softer, more refined and middle aged than its sister venue on Dean Street, Pizza on the Park is as good a place as any to experience the exquisite and startlingly intimate songs that Martin and RRB have a knack of unearthing. Last night they rummaged through Cy Coleman's back catalogue spurning some of his best known tunes in favour of those that had fallen by the way side, usually from musicals that never quite made it on Broadway. Total gems, particularly the one with lyrics penned by Coleman himself. As RRB pointed out, it was only when he discovered the importance of words that he really felt he had come of age as a song writer - 'it's not just about the chords'..