“Michael Cooke is one of those rare originals who comes by in our lives now and again, but, not nearly often enough. 
His solo show recently on a rainy night at the Catalina Jazz Club, where so many artists have appeared over the years, was unparalleled in the memory of this reviewer, not only for his virtuosity on the key board, but for his brilliant running repartee, repartee about not only jazz and it’s performers, but on such diverse subjects as the relationship between Churchill and FDR (the former reportedly having said that meeting FDR “was like opening your first bottle of champagne,” and that “knowing him was like drinking it”)  and the philosophic in general. This was a performance that at times was profound, and at other times was riotously funny.” Read entire review...