Lori Donato: Sojourn

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Lori Donato

Sojourn

Tom Rolla’s Gardenia, West Hollywood, CA, September 24, 2016

Reviewed by Mary Bogue for Cabaret Scenes

After 30 years in the business, singing around Los Angeles and years of criss-crossing Europe and entertaining on cruise ships, Lori Donato made her debut at the famed Gardenia. In Donato’s words, it was time to “Start the party.

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Conveying the story of her life from the formative years in South Dakota where “my life was a mess,” she left behind her career as a high school teacher and took a major leap of faith, landing her in Berlin. Along the way she ended up married, unmarried, in Sweden and the world was her stage.

She opened with “The Song Is You” (Oscar Hammerstein/Jerome Kern) and then put a Latin spin on “This Could Be the Start of Something” (Steve Allen). In grand voice and nightclub style, the statuesque Donato delivered a terrific “Woman in the Moon” (Paul Williams/Kenny Ascher) and moved seamlessly from stage to behind the piano to sing, in French, “Lili Marlene” (Norbert Schultze/Hans Leip).

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She tore up the house describing the men in her life with “Broken Down Kitchen Blues” (Cami Thompson) as the crowd enthusiastically whooped, hollered and applauded.

We traveled with her on her cruise ship adventures with “Rio de Janeiro Blue” (Richard Torrance/John Haeny) and a super assist from drummer Jack LeCompte. Switching gears, Rick Hils skillfully jazzed up “Any Place I Hang My Hat Is Home” (Johnny Mercer/Harold Arlen). A “cougar” before it was fashionable, her “Bye Bye Country Boy” (Blossom Dearie/Jack Segal) was stunning. Donato brought it all home as the audience clapped along, and she and Hils took us on a “Detour” (Paul Westmoreland). Her Duke Ellington mash-up was masterful, and the encore, “Angels on Your Pillow,” composed by the present Paul Horner (lyrics by Peggy Lee) was just heavenly.

The next stop on her journey is Palm Springs for her show at The Purple Room.

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Mary Bogue

Mary Bogue’s journey into the world of jazz began in 1981 when she was accepted by the Monterey Jazz Festival to cover the event as a writer. It was there that jazz tenor saxophonist Buddy Tate introduced her to the legendary vocalist Helen Humes. Their interview, later published in Jazz Dispatch and distributed at the Playboy Jazz Festival, marked the beginning of Bogue’s deep connection to jazz and storytelling. One unforgettable moment came when Humes introduced her to Count Basie, saying, “Bill, this is my friend Mary. Mary, this is Bill.” That simple introduction sparked a lifelong love for jazz and a passion for writing. Among her early interviews was a conversation with the legendary Les McCann, a connection that would come full circle years later when McCann joined Bogue on her debut album, Don’t Go to Strangers, released in 2012. The album, celebrated with a launch party hosted by KJZZ, gained national airplay and recognition. Her follow-up albums, Blue Smoke and One Night of Sin, further solidified her place in the jazz world. In 2015, Bogue was honored as a Living Legend of Jazz and recognized by the Duke Ellington Society, the United States Congress, the State of California, and the City of Los Angeles. Her cabaret career took off at the iconic Gardenia in Hollywood and continued in New York at the Metropolitan Room. That same year, she joined Cabaret Scenes Magazine as a reviewer of both cabaret shows and CDs, continuing to champion jazz and cabaret through both performance and the written word. In addition to her accomplishments in music and journalism, Mary is also an accomplished visual artist. She has designed album covers and created a wide range of artwork, including oil paintings of blues singers and expressive watercolors. Her visual work, much like her music, reflects her deep passion for the soul and spirit of jazz and blues.