Blues Workshop at the Vortex in London

The goal of MusicGurus workshops is to bring all of us together around intimate musical moments with awesome musicians. It's all about sharing the music we love, meeting and playing with each other and learning a lot in the process!

For this meetup we brought together four of the UK's finest blues performers for an exclusive 3 hours of jamming and sharing thoughts about playing the blues.

Pianist and vocalist Paddy Milner, guitarist and vocalist Marcus Bonfanti, drummer & harmonica player Pat Levett, and bassist Jay Darwish have worked with legends like Jack Bruce, Van Morrison, Ginger Baker, Ronnie Wood, Bernard Purdie and Sting. Between international tours they are noted educators who all have courses on the MusicGurus website.

Over this three hour masterclass Paddy, Marcus and Pat will share their wealth of experience and look at various styles within the Blues, offering secrets and insights into playing Shuffles, Slow Blues, Funk, New Orleans feels and more. At the end of this masterclass, you'll have clear instrumental ideas to work on, and also benefit from personal advice on musicality and general musicianship.

About the artists:

• Paddy Milner is one of the world's top blues pianists. He is currently keyboard player of choice for the legendary Tom Jones, following several years with the late great Jack Bruce. He is a noted soloist and bandleader in his own right, having twice won Best Keyboard Player at the British Blues Awards. “I love it…there’s a guy who can really play the piano” Dave Brubeck on Paddy Milner
• Marcus Bonfanti is a guitarist and singer, he fronts Ten Years After and the Ronnie Scott's Blues Explosion. He has worked with Ginger Baker, Van Morrison, and Ronnie Wood. His solo albums have been named among Classic Rock magazine's 'Albums of the Year'.
• Pat Levett is one of the UK's most in demand drummers. He has performed and recorded with The James Taylor Quartet, Tim Minchin, and Bernard Purdie. As well as drums, Pat plays chromatic harmonica and is a featured soloist on two albums by Will Grove-White. His own project ‘The Coalminers’, is dedicated to playing New Orleans funk and soul.
• Jay Darwish is one of the most in demand bassists in London. From playing & recording with Sting, Newton Faulkner to Gilles Peterson, he's made his mark on the London scene and continues to perform and record regularly in a variety of contexts. Jay is equally at home on Double Bass as well as the Electric Bass.

Many thanks to the Vortex Jazz Club for hosting this workshop.