Paddy Milner is widely recognised as one of the leading blues piano players in the world today. In addition to his solo work as a songwriter and singer, he is currently keyboard player of choice for Sir Tom Jones, having previously worked for several years with the late Jack Bruce, and can also be heard playing on the soundtrack to ‘Rocket Man’, the hit 2019 biographical drama about the life of Elton John. Milner, who is featured in a new documentary about session keyboardist Nicky Hopkins called ‘The Session Man’, has worked with MusicGurus to bring his expertise to a wider audience with an online course for learning to play ‘authentic’ blues piano. He discusses both projects in this exclusive interview with UKJazz News.
UKJazz News: For readers unfamiliar with Nicky Hopkins, can you talk about his work and influence on you?
Paddy Milner: Nicky Hopkins was an unsung hero of the music world who played piano on some of the biggest records of the 60’s & 70’s but was largely unheard of outside of musical circles. His piano playing is all over the recordings of the Kinks, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Joe Cocker, and also the wonderfully rocking piano solo on “Revolution” by the Beatles, amongst many others. You’ll know his work! He was a versatile musician, which made him very suited to a variety of musical settings, but it was his rock ‘n’ roll piano playing that has particularly influenced me – he was very much influenced by the great Blues and Boogie pianists and brought that into the new wave of 60’s British R&B-based bands, helping to create a new sound in the process.
UKJN: You feature in a new documentary about him called ‘The Session Man’. What’s the story behind how you got involved and your contributions to the project?
PM: I was brought in by Chris Kimsey, who worked with Nicky whilst engineering and producing the Rolling Stones and others. Chris was closely involved with the project and was one of the key interviewees. I’ve done many studio projects with Chris over the years and he thought I’d be a good fit to demonstrate Nicky’s piano parts in the film. It was a joy to transcribe Nicky’s awesome piano parts, play them and talk about them. I felt a synergy with Nicky’s playing, sharing many of the same influences and perhaps having taken a similar path in our learning journeys with a mix of formal training, learning from records and experience playing in bands from a young age.
UKJN: Who are some of your other musical influences?
PM: I have a broad love of music from Blues and Roots through to the classical repertoire (which I studied at University), although some players and styles are more of a direct influence from a piano playing perspective. There are so many musicians and composers that have a place in my heart, but here are some names from the piano world that immediately come to mind: Dr John, James Booker, Pete Johnson, Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis, Otis Spann, Johnnie Johnson, Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans and Brad Mehldau. I’ve been enjoying playing more organ of late, so players such as Jimmy Smith, Larry Young, Larry Goldings and John Medeski are also in there for sure!
UKJN: You have worked with, among others, Sir Tom Jones, Van Morrison and the late Jack Bruce. Tell us a little bit about your experiences working with them…
PM: I’ve had wonderful experiences with them all in different ways! I’ve been with Sir Tom for a decade now and it still blows me away how professional and committed he is to every performance, with a voice that continues to fill room after room! We’ve had some really amazing tours, memorable gigs in iconic venues, lots of laughs and I couldn’t think of a better way of seeing the world. Van is another man with a powerful and one-in-a-million voice, and it’s always exciting to be on the edge of your seat while on stage with him! Jack was a spontaneous musician and I loved the way he would take the music to different places, always pushing the boundaries – that taught me a lot about the benefits of taking musical risks and being out of your comfort zone.
UKJN: You teach an online piano course on learning to play ‘authentic’ blues piano’. What does authentic blues piano mean to you?
PM: It’s a loaded term for sure! For the purposes of my courses, I’m really referring to recreating the sound world of the classic blues pianists we know and love, so it could be understood as ‘authentic-sounding’. I say this because I don’t think it’s possible to teach how to play ‘The Blues’ per se, which is a deeper expression of the human condition, but it is possible to learn the language that characterises the sound world of Blues piano, which can then be used to express human emotions. So, in short, my courses can help you learn to produce the sounds associated with Blues piano but it’s down to you to fill those sounds with emotion to really play the Blues.
UKJN: Without giving too much away, tell us what is on offer here and what a prospective student can expect.
PM: It’s an opportunity to learn the basics of the Blues piano sound world, focusing on authentic-sounding piano parts and creative ideas for improvisation. It’s very much a progressive approach, beginning with ideas in their simplest form and then gradually increasing the complexity as the course develops. By the end of the course, students will be able to play an authentic-sounding Blues including a variety of improvisational ideas and space for their own creativity.
UKJN: Is there a particular level of pianist this course is targeted at?
PM: It’s aimed at relative beginners and those with a little more playing experience who are looking for an entry into improvisation. Students don’t need to read music for the video course but it is useful in order to best make use of the PDF downloads that accompany the course. I have other courses available with Music Gurus that are more suited to those at a higher level.
UKJN: Are there any essential recordings / artists that you recommend students of the course should check out before enrolling?
PM: Solo records by Otis Spann, Pinetop Perkins, Memphis Slim, Champion Jack Dupree, Lafayette Leake, Johnnie Johnson would be a good start to give an overview of the sound world the course takes inspiration from.
UKJN: Anything else our readers should know about the course or ‘The Session Man’?
PM: These are two projects that I loved working on so hope they will be useful and interesting to people. The Session Man is not yet out in the UK but look out for a release date!
MusicGurus is offering a Black Friday exclusive 25% discount on subscriptions which give you access to all of Paddy’s online courses, quote UKJAZZ25 code for discount (linked below)
