The Vortex Jazz Club, 11 Gillett Square, London N16 8AZ | Bookings 020 7254 4097 | Email Info at Vortex

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Welcome to The Vortex Jazz Club

London's world-renowned jazz club

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Coming up this week...

Saturday 4 July | 8.30pm | £12 | Book online

Barb Jungr

Britain's premier song stylist – 'Sensational' (The New York Times), 'One of the very best nightclub singers in the world' (Time Out New York).

See the programme page

Sunday 5 July | 8.30pm | £10 | Book online

Nikki Yeoh Solo Gemini

Pianist Nikki Yeoh has performed internationally with Courtney Pine, John Surman, Eddie Harris, Alexander O'Neill, Fred Wesley, The Roots and Cleveland Watkiss – to name but a few. Tonight's gig is a rare opportunity to catch Nikki in a solo setting.

'If she didn't love music as unpredictable and personal as jazz, Nikki Yeoh would be a household name by now" (John Fordham – The Guardian).

Monday 6 July | 8.30pm | £8 | Book online

Louis Moholo - Moholo Unit - CD Launch

Eagerly awaited return of the South African master drummer and his Unit with a special cause for celebration – the launch of their new CD 'An Open Letter to My Wife Mpumi' on Ogun Records.

The all-star line-up (which we are proud to say, first came together at the Vortex), features Jason Yarde and Ntshuks Bonga (saxes), Orphy Robinson (vibes), Pule Pheto (piano) and John Edwards (bass).

 

Gig reviews by Chris Parker

Chris Biscoe Quartet

Thursday 2 July 2009

Although so-called 'tribute bands' can all too easily become exercises in pure nostalgia, in thoughtful hands, they can also cast valuable light into the obscurer corners of a great artist's music, enabling listeners to form a more accurate, rounded picture of a musical career than that prevailing, which is frequently contingent on fashion, both artistic and political. See the complete review.

New CD reviews by Chris Parker

Sara Colman  Ready

'A genuine feel for the elasticity and playfulness of swing phrasing and a true improviser's art' are the qualities Ian Shaw admires in Sara Colman's singing, and anyone who attended her recent Vortex gig would no doubt agree with him. She also has an excellent ear for a good rock/pop song, one that might profit from a jazz version, and thus begins her album with three such: the Rafferty/Egan (Stealer's Wheel) classic, 'Stuck in the Middle with You' (the intoxicated muddle of which she conveys wittily but tastefully); 'How Do You Stop' (a song written for James Brown by the late Dan Hartman, which resurfaced on a relatively recent Joni Mitchell album); and Walter Becker's pungent 'Book of Liars'.

Alyn Cosker  Lyn's Une

Courtney Pine is quoted on the sleeve of this album, describing Alyn Cosker as 'a fantastic drummer who plays with a lot of heart, swing and passion', and the twelve tracks on it all thoroughly justify this praise. Cosker's bandmates – saxophonists Tommy Smith and Paul Towndrow, trumpeter Ryan Quigley, pianist Jason Rebello, guitarist David Dunsmuir and bassist Ross Hamilton – are all discernibly energised by the the leader/composer's drive, bristling power and precision...

Tony Woods Project  Wind Shadows

Described by reedsman/flautist Tony Woods as 'music of light and dark, sweet and bitter, the wind and the shadow', and containing in its notes references to Eric Dolphy, religious poet George Herbert and traditional children's songs, this album comes from what might be termed the lyrical/spiritual/pastoral section of the jazz spectrum. Woods himself plays saxophones, clarinet, wood flute and hulusi, Rob Millett vibes, marimba and gongs, and it is chiefly their interplay and the resultant textural variety that defines the music of the 'Project'.

The Vortex Jazz Club gratefully acknowledges financial support from the PRS Foundation.

The Vortex is a member of the Europe Jazz Network

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Wednesday 8 July

Vintage Brazil
Samba Night

Samba dance class and music with Monica Vasconcelos.

 More details

Saturday 11 July

Robert Mitchell's Panacea

Led by acclaimed pianist Robert Mitchell, the quartet will be unveiling material soon to be recorded for the forthcoming third album

 More details