Donna Cherry. Submitted photo.

Many folks love to dine out on the weekend in Bowling Green.  It’s almost a traditional rite-of-passage from the work week.  One of Bowling Green’s premier dining hotspots is The Bistro located at 1129 College Street.  On Friday and Saturday nights from 6-9pm the sumptuous cuisine is accentuated and enhanced by the jazz piano stylings of Donna Cherry.  Her casual style carries you far away from your daily woes and results for a truly wonderful experience

Donna, can you tell us a bit about your personal history?

I was born in BG, and have lived either in town or in the county all my life.  I’m an alumnus of Warren East and WKU.  My B.S. is in accounting. For all of my adult life, until last year, I’ve worked and my music has been a side project.  The last 12 years, I have  worked full time as an accountant.

How did you get started in music?

I started playing piano at 7.  My dad’s side of the family is very musical—my grandmother, dad, aunt, some uncles, some cousins, all sing and/or play guitar or piano, and I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t passionate about music.  As a teen I played piano in church and sang.  On a side note, Christopher Cherry, former director of the Capitol Arts, is my first cousin.

Ken Smith gave me my first taste of being in a band, although I was mostly the female vocalist.  Up to that point I had very little formal training on the piano, and I was terrible.  I later played in a couple of country bands, a folk-rock band with Clayton Payne, and the last band I was in was a cover band called Henry’s Bike.

In 1995 I started taking lessons with Ed Dansereau. You’ve probably heard of him—he is a very accomplished pianist, and he currently plays keys with Michael Gough, in addition to solo work and playing with his jazz band, Monktrane.  Getting Ed as a teacher was life-changing—one of the best things that has ever happened in my life.  He trained me to be a solo jazz pianist, and I still study with him, because I can’t imagine a time when I can’t still learn something from him.

It took me a lot longer than most of his students to reach professional level as a jazz pianist.  Between working stressful jobs with more than full-time hours, and the birth of my son in 1997 (I’m a single mom), I didn’t have the time or energy that I would have liked to devote to study and practice.  I loved it too much to ever quit, though, and a few years ago I started working on my professional repertoire.

Who influenced you as a musician? Anybody local?

As far as musical influences go—Ed is by far the biggest influence, but Elton John & Billy Joel also factor in there, in addition to jazz pianists like Marian McPartland.

What is your favorite sort of gig?

My favorite type of gig overall is probably playing with a band, especially a rock band.  When things click in a performance with a band, there’s just no other feeling like it.  To be honest, though, I love to perform in any way that I can.  I get so much enjoyment from seeing that other people are enjoying what I’m doing.  I particularly love it when it’s busy at the Bistro, or any other place where I can just let loose and put my whole heart & soul into my performance.

How long have you been at The Bistro?

On my birthday in October 2007, I went to the Bistro to eat for the first time, talked to Sasa, auditioned the next week, and started my house gig there the following weekend.  I absolutely love playing down there, and the owners and staff are very supportive and a pleasure to work with.

Your music seems to be a mix of popular and jazz, but would you define your sound?

I don’t know how to define my sound…maybe I’m a female version of the “piano man”?  The vast majority of what I’ve studied with Ed have been songs from the 20s to 40s, with a bit of 50s & 60s thrown in.  Shortly after I started at the Bistro, I decided that I wanted to see if I could work in more current songs, so I bought fake books that covered 50s to 90s, rock, pop, blues, and disco.  The 70s were my favorite musical decade, so I probably have more songs worked up from that era, but I have quite a bit from the other decades as well.  Basically, I’m a music nut—if it was a hit, and I can pull it off on the piano alone, I try to work it up.  Most of the songs seem to go over well—sometimes people sing along like it’s karaoke, and many people have told me that they play “Name That Tune” while I’m playing.  Even though I’m such a fan of modern pop/rock, I’m still a huge fan of jazz and I absolutely love playing jazz

Are you playing with anyone else in any other bands now?

I’m currently working on a few songs with a local band called The Ride (formerly Life on Mars).  So far we’ve been working on songs by Led Zeppelin, Joe Cocker, The Band, and J. Geils Band.  I’ve also played solo a couple of times at the Coffee Grind, a new coffee shop in Fairview Plaza, and will probably play there more as my schedule allows.

Where do you want go with your music?

Where do I want to go with my music…I would like to continually expand my repertoire and improve my technique, and be able to have a full musical schedule.  I would also like to expand my repertoire of songs that I sing. I sang at open mic at Tidball’s several weeks ago, and I loved it.  I would love to have a musical group of my own someday in which I did at least some of the vocals, and I would really like to record.

Are you working on a CD?

Unfortunately I don’t have the resources to record a CD right now, but hopefully before too long.

Thanks so much Donna! Is there anything else you’d like to add?

There is one thing I’d like to add.  I’m an example of not giving up on your dream.  I became a pro relatively late in the game (just turned 41), but I was still able to achieve my dream because I had an amazing teacher, and neither one of us gave up on me.

Thank you for interviewing me.  I hope folks will  come out to the Bistro soon.  I take requests.

Jack Montgomery is a librarian, author and associate professor at Western Kentucky University where he handles bookings for musical acts in University Libraries, Java City coffeehouse. Jack has also been a professional musician since 1969 and performs with a celtic quartet called Watersprite. Visit him at MySpace/shadowdancerjack