Programme

The complete guide to this month's gigs

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The Vortex Jazz Club

Celebrating the club's 25th anniversary

The Vortex is a volunteer-led, not-for-profit organization, based in the heart of Dalston providing a platform for music outside of the mainstream, including jazz, improvised and experimental music.

Now celebrating its 25th birthday, the core of the club’s activity relates to the programme of gigs at its 100 capacity venue within the Dalston Culture House, as well as other larger spaces, which adds up to nearly 400 performances a year.

For 25 years The Vortex has maintained a reputation for innovative programming and has provided a platform for both emerging and established talent in the jazz, experimental and contemporary music scene and is proud of an international reputation that belies the venue’s size.

It is consistently selected as one of the top 150 jazz clubs in the world by Downbeat magazine, was short-listed by Music Week as one of the best live promoters of 2011 and voted into the top 10 London venues by readers of Time Out in 2012.

We have been lucky enough to engender a strong loyalty from musicians, staff and fans alike, as demonstrated by the number of world class musicians who regularly return to the club, especially from the UK, and also the loyalty of so many who attend the concerts.

The ability to work closely with a number of musicians as their careers have developed is a particular source of pride, including Mercury nominated bands such as Polar Bear and Portico Quartet. Meanwhile, innovative saxophonist Evan Parker has been playing a monthly residency at the Vortex for over 15 years.

We are not in receipt of any regular source of public funding. The club has survived by keeping its costs as low as possible and sourcing individual grants and donations where available.

Admission prices are kept reasonable, generally in the range of £8 to £15, and any profits are put back into the club to benefit the artists and audience alike. Every night is staffed by volunteers (including technical staff) and all the directors of the club are unpaid, playing an active role in the club’s activities and development.

Having moved to Dalston in 2005, The Vortex was an early champion of the area and contributed significantly to its revival and development. Of particular importance was the work done by Hackney Cooperative Developments (HCD) in the transformation of Gillett Square, located outside The Vortex, from a run down car park to a vibrant public space, which was recently recognized by the Academy of Urbanism’s Great Place Awards 2012.

See 'For the Love Of Jazz' – a short documentary video about the Vortex

The Vortex and Hackney Co-Operative Developments (HCD)

A partnership between The Vortex and HCD was formed back in 2006 to develop and programme events each year in Gillett Square and later constituted into the Vortex Squared management group.

So far we have been successful in producing a huge range of cultural activities varying in size, content and character. All the events that take place in Gillett Square are free to the public and financed by HCD and The Vortex through project specific fundraising.

The Gillett Square Partnership does not receive any regular funding for the cultural programme it provides in the square each year. However, we have been lucky enough to work regularly with numerous other key partners who have helped fund or produce work in the space, including The Barbican, L.B. Hackney Culture and Regeneration, The Arts Council, West Hackney Parochial Fund, The Big Lottery, The London Development Agency and Universal Board Games.

The vision for Gillett Square is the creation of a public space in which people of all ages from all quarters of society, the neighbourhood and the city can meet, to relax, play, perform, converse, exchange and create.

It has the twin values of quality and equality and aims to help people feel part of a more balanced, active and changing community that is not only local but also global.

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