Deanna Bogart & Paddy Milner

The Bull’s Head Jazz Room, London, UK, November 2nd 2017

Reviewed by Helen Theophanous for Cabaret Scenes 

Promoter Larry Pryce brought New Orleans to the legendary Bull’s Head Jazz Room with award-winning multi-instrumentalists Deanna Bogart (from the USA) and the U.K.’s Paddy Milner.

With her silky, bluesey, yet edgy vocals, Bogart opened with an original, ”Baby I’ll Call You,” joining Milner for a four-hander on piano to finish. This became a characteristic of the evening with both artists switching between keyboard and piano at ease, often playing exciting four hands boogie-woogie on piano.

Milner’s strong vocals on “Every Night About This Time” (Fats Domino) followed, again together with Bogart on piano trading off each other with witty musical exchanges. She took to the tenor sax for Duke Ellington/Bob Russell’s “Do Nothin’ Till You Hear from Me” with refreshingly laid-back vocals, with singer Denise Gordon guesting on the second verse. Bogart’s versatility shone again playing a bluesey sax for “In a Sentimental Mood” (Duke Ellington/Manny Kurtz) with Milner on piano. “It’s Fine by Me,” another Bogart original, culminated in a fierce and exciting Caribbean calypso groove for four hands.

“Junco Partner“ (Bob Shad), was a perfect choice for Milner’s smooth vocals and exciting boogie-woogie piano style. Bogart’s vocals on “It’s All Over Now” (Bobby Womack/Shirley Womack) was atmospheric and moving. In a nod to his role touring with Sir Tom Jones, “It’s Not Unusual” (Les Reed/Gordon Mills),was requested, and Milner obliged with a rip roaring boogie-woogie piano as Bogart joined with a cool moody sax. The exciting extended musical exchanges throughout the evening left the brilliance of these artists in no doubt, and the tour-de-force four-hander on the Tom Waits “Way Down in the Hole” (used as the theme to TV’s The Wire), was a perfect finale for these two brilliant musicians.

Bogart and Milner are pure dynamite.