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Please note that concessionary tickets can only be purchased at the door and proof of identity will be required.
Doors open 8pm
All gigs start at 8.45pm (approx) unless shown otherwise.
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May 2008 gigs
Online booking available now...
Thursday 1 | 8.45pm | £9 | Book online
Phil Robson – Six Strings & The Beat
Launching the CD of a project originally premiered in March last year at The Vortex to rave reviews.
Touching bases as apparently widely spaced as the diaphonous but propulsive sound of Malian singer Oumou Sangare, the spacy spikiness of, say, Terje Rypdal or Jimi Sumen, and the 'squeezed toothpaste from a tube' sound of Bill Frisell – not to mention the odd blues sequence and solo spots for Herbert and the strings – guitarist Phil Robson demonstrates not just a keen compositional brain but also a refreshingly open-eared approach to contemporary music.
"Something of a triumph for Robson, who wholly engrossed a packed club not only with his stunning soloing (especially in conjunction with just Herbert and Calderazzo) but also with the variety, ambition and sheer virtuosity of his music" (Chris Parker).
Friday 2 | 8.45pm | £10 | Book online
Lifeforce Muzic and Brazenbunch present 'Lifeforce'
Joint tour de force presenting journeys through jazz, soul, folk, and blues and everything in between.
A unique opportunity to see a lineup of the most innovative of established and emerging artists backed by the Lifeforce Band. Modern instruments such as the violectra and electronic loopers, and traditional instruments such as the kalimba and steel pan, will feature during the series of events that show music has no boundaries.
Guest artists:
Imaani
A highly-acclaimed vocalist who has toured the globe extensively and has featured on many recordings such as Copyright, Reel People, Urban Species and Incognito. Imaani also appeared alongside Amp Fiddler, Omar and Chaka Khan as part of the Hope Collective charity release 'Give and Let Live'.
Don-e
Don-e has performed to packed audiences at the Jazz Café and his musical and production skills have been utilised by artists such as Grace Jones, Mica Paris and Beverley Knight.
Joy Rose
Joy has worked with Sting, Herbie Hancock and Mary J Blige to name but a few. Current vocalist with Incognito, Joy also teamed up with Sting’s Co-Producer on her own gospel EP ‘Grace’.
Baby Sol
Baby Sol has a unique voice and dynamic performance which has been praised by many artists in the music industry and she has delighted audiences with her live performances.
Root Jackson
Celebrating 40 years in the industry Root is an influential artist who has performed with many great names and was a member of the critically acclaimed band FBI during the 1970's.
Artists subject to change. For up to date info please go to:
www.myspace.com/lifeforceband
www.myspace.com/brazenbunch
www.brazenbunch.com
Saturday 3 | 8.45pm | £12 | Book online
Harry Beckett
One of Britain's best jazz improvisers, trumpeter Harry Beckett's musical interests range from post-bop to free improvisation. He has been a key member of important groups in the British free jazz/improvised music scene and his reputation extends throughout Europe and the USA.
The number of musicians he has been associated with would be too numerous to list but is perhaps already familiar to Vortex audiences for his appearances with Annie Whitehead.
Sunday 4 | Doors 7.30pm – starts 8.00pm | £15 | Book online
Vocals@Vortex
Presenting The Angela Carrington Awards
Open mic hosted by Brian Shaw with The Bob Stuckey Trio.
Featuring Todd Gordon and Lee Gibson
This is the third year of the awards that go to London's best open mic jazz singers. The competition is held for people with day jobs and no jobs, In the name of Angela Carrington, the much loved musician, writer and open mic jazz singer.
Angela took her own life while suffering clinical depression. and this event celebrates her life and raises money for mental health charities.
Monday 5 | 8.45pm | £9 | Book online
Sleepthief
Ingrid Laubrock, Tom Rainey & Liam Noble
Performing material from the new album 'Sleepthief' to be released on Intakt Records in September.
Ingrid Laubrock is one of the most versatile and thoughtful saxophonists of her generation, as adept at carving out spontaneous improvisations as picking out an individual, yet always startlingly apt path through chord sequences.
Liam Noble is a subtly powerful player with a highly original musical mind and drummer Tom Rainey – ‘A superlative player' (Jazz Word Review) – is also the power behind other trios such as Tim Berne’s Paraphrase.
Tuesday 6 | 8.45pm | £9 | Book online
Nicola Emmanuelle
The talents of Nicola Emmanuelle have been obvious for some time to the many artists, producers and musical directors who have been employing her crystalline voice for studio albums, film and television work.
Her understanding of the feel and swing of the best of the past, and her own contemporary iconic style and individuality adds to and supports a voice of mesmerising purity and beauty.
Comfortable in all types of live situations, Nicola makes a speciality of singing acapella and is capable of incredible scat solos when the mood takes her. With pianist Alex Webb, Gary Crosby (double-bass) and Siemy Di (drums and percussion).
'...Nicola Emmanuelle is the real deal. A charismatic, charming performer with a richly expressive, show-stopper of a voice, she’s a real throwback to the days of swing...' (Time Out).
Wednesday 7 | 8.45pm | £8 | Book online
Lotte Anker
A new Danish / British new collaboration featuring saxophonist Lotte Anker and bassist Peter Friis-Nielsen – among the absolute elite on the Danish improv scene. Lotte Anker is known for her expressive and highly attentive playing and Peter for his intense and original way of treating the electric bass.
Pat Thomas (piano and electronics) and Mark Sanders (drums) are likewise improv masters and central figures on the British scene.
All members of the band have worked and recorded with many musicians on the international freeform/improv/experimental scene including Peter Brötzman, Evan Parker, Marilyn Crispell, Tim Berne, John Edwards, Fred Frith, Ikue Mori, Charles Gayle, Derek Bailey, Leo Smith...et al.
Thursday 8 | 8.45pm | £10 | Book online
Blow the Fuse presents Remembering Emily
Deirdre Cartwright/Kathy Dyson (gtrs) pay tribute to the great American jazz guitarist Emily Remler who died in 1990 at the age of 32.
Kathy Dyson is a jazz guitarist and composer living in Manchester who teaches at Leeds College of Music.
With Alison Rayner (Bass) Kenrick Rowe (drums). Featuring some Remler originals and swing bop and Latin standards.
Friday 9 | 8.45pm | £10 | Book online
Oriole
A sensory banquet of soaring melodies, colourful South American folklore, gently wafting rhythms, lively dances and emotional ballads, Oriole's music (written by leader/guitarist Jonny Phillips) is deliciously easy on the ear. A seamless balance of compositional and improvised elements, it is utterly beguiling and immediately accessible.
Saturday 10 | 8.45pm | £12 | Book online
Ian Shaw
Named 'Best Jazz Vocalist' at the BBC Jazz Awards in 2004 and 2007, Ian Shaw is one of the UK's most inventive jazz vocalists, breathing unexpected life into unlikely pop tunes and the most sentimental of showtunes.
HIs onstage patter, enlightening, humorous, occasionally scurrilous, would be worth the price of admission alone, but Ian is also a superb performer of his own songs, as featured on his new album of self-penned material – ‘Lifejacket' – ‘...a profoundly sophisticated artist.' (The Guardian).
Sunday 11 | 8.45pm | £3 (musicians free)
JazzArc Jam Session
Featuring Brandon Allen (tenor sax), Ross Stanley (piano), John Allen (double bass) and Julian Saul (drums). ‘An exciting collective of up-and-coming London-based musicians’ (Time Out).
Monday 12 | 8.45pm | £9 | Book online
Gypsy/East European Night
Stewart Curtis' K-Groove
with special guest Piotr Jordan
K-Groove play a subtle, natural fusion of jazz/klezmer/Latin and tango in funky, quirky arrangements by woodwind virtuoso Stewart Curtis. A fantastic example of true world jazz .
The ensemble won the national world music award 'Klezmer Idol' in 2007 and is presently recording a new CD.
Stewart Curtis (clarinets, sax & flute), Rob Terry (keyboard), Brad Lang (electric bass), Hans Ferrao (drums) and Ronen Kozokaro (percussion). They are joined by outstanding gypsy/klezmer violinist Piotr Jordan.
Tuesday 13 | 8.30pm | £8 | Book online
Alex Hawkins Sextet
Alexander Hawkins (piano, melodica, compositions) returns to the Vortex with his sextet featuring guitarist Otto Fischer (‘alluring and assured’); virtuoso cellist Hannah Marshall; bassist Dominic Lash ('free-bass don' ); percussionist Javier Carmona, and multi-instrumentalist Orphy Robinson (steel pan, pocket trumpet, etc.) ‘...a no-holds-barred approach toward playing music grounded in the original seminal free spirit of jazz’ (All About Jazz).
Wednesday 14 | 8.45pm | £8 | Book online
Italian Jazz Festival 2008
Pippo Matino Quartet
The Italian Jazz Festival 2008 brings to London the best of the vibrant Italian jazz scene.
Gathered together for the first time, five bands with no less than twenty-two performers – including Giovanni Amato, Italy's top trumpet player, and world-class bass player Dario Deidda – will be performing in five London jazz venues including The Vortex.
Pippo Matino is considered one of the best electric bass players in Europe. He is a constant presence at the most important music festivals and bass events including Eurobassday in Verona and Musikmesse. The Quartet includes Emanuele Cisi (tenor and soprano sax), Peter De Girolamo (keyboards) and Claudio Romano (drums).
For more information about the Italian Jazz Festival see www.italianjazzfestival.com
Thursday 15 | 8.45pm | £8 | Book online
Puma
Cutting-edge Norwegian improvised music. Radical rebels of the fertile Norwegian rock, free-jazz and electronic music scene, Puma has been compared to Supersilent, MoHa and Scorch by audiences and critics throughout Europe.
Their music, though category-defying, is melodic, ranging from intense brute force and masses of noise, to the most concentrated gentle passages.
The trio was awarded the prestigious 'Young Jazz Musicians Of The Year” award in Norway in 2006, and has since then released two albums, Isolationism (2007), and the present album which is out in April 2008 on Bolage Recordings.
For fans of both rock, jazz and electronic music. '... cuts with a blunt saw and a slow drill through any attempt to genre-decide.'
Friday 16 | 8.45pm | £10 | Book online
Robert Mitchell & Omar Puente
Passionate, exuberant, fiercely interactive duo music. Robert Mitchell is an extraordinarily dexterous, quicksilver-fast pianist, his playing by turns dramatically percussive and delicately tender.
Cuban electric violinist Puente is capable of producing both poised, elegant melodies and affecting solos interspersed with judiciously positioned plucked passages that impart a welcome textural variety to the duo sound.
Together the duo provides an object lesson in the tricky art of uncontrivedly combining grace and fire.
Saturday 17 | 8.45pm | £12 | Book online
Twittering Machine
With Eddie Parker on flutes and piano, Partisans mega sax-man Julian Siegel (saxes and bass), maverick strings man Stuart Hall (guitar, violin and bass) and Paul Clarvis (drums and percussion). A quartet with at least 20 instruments in it!
Sunday 18 | 8.45pm | £7/4 | Book online
Mopomoso
The cream of improvised music...
ARC
Sylvia Hallett (violin) Danny Kingshill (cello) and Gus Garside (bass) are a trio of distinctive players from diverse backgrounds including rock, jazz and contemporary composition. Their music displays a rare sensibility founded upon the musical empathy they have developed since the early 1990s.
Coxon/Noble/Thomas/Wilkinson
Come together in a relatively new grouping, John (guitar), Steve (drums), Pat (keyboards) and Alan (saxes) respectively, are four musicians well known for putting a new spin on ‘energy’ music, . Expect plenty of invention and joyous raucousness.
Coxhill/Russell
Lol Coxhill is quite simply one of the most creative and captivating saxophonists in the country. His unmistakable playing has graced so many different musical situations that to select examples would seem insulting. Here in a duo with renowned acoustic guitarist John Russell.
Monday 19 | 8.45pm | £15 | Book online (Ticket standing room only)
The Necks
The deceptive simplicity of the Necks music throws forth new charms on each hearing. Not entirely avant-garde, minimalist, ambient or even jazz, the music builds around repeated motifs, morphing and whirring until it breathes and pulsates.
'...their music shimmers, drones, hovers and slowly ebbs and flows in an irresistibly hypnotic manner, relying on the subtlest of textural and dynamic transitions for its extraordinary cumulative effect, rendering their gigs truly remarkable' (Chris Parker).
Please note – all reserved seating for this concert is now sold out. Online tickets on sale are standing room only.
Tuesday 20 | 8.45pm | £15 | Book online (Ticket standing room only)
The Necks
As Monday 19.
Please note – all reserved seating for this concert is now sold out. Online tickets on sale are standing room only.
Wednesday 21 | 8.45pm | £8 | Book online
Z-U
A three-piece band pushing forward the boundaries of improvised music.
By taking the raw elements of jazz and allowing generous use of electronic loops and effects, Z-U creates an homogenous sound world in which fragments of melodies are spontaneously shaped.
Neil Charles (bass), Shabaka Hutchings (clarinet/saxophone) and Tom Skinner (drums and triggers).
Thursday 22 | 8.45pm | £8 | Book online
Arun Ghosh
Mancunian clarinettist Arun Ghosh makes his Vortex debut. His Indo-Jazz sextet play original music of South Asian origin with a contemporary jazz attitude, rocking urban beats, and the passion of punk.
Sweet and timeless melodies give birth to soaring improvisations and raag explorations, driven by a heady mix of dub-reggae bass, tabla trickery and ferocious drum explosions. The band will be performing material from Arun's debut album, 'Northern Namaste', released in April on Camoci records
The full line-up is Arun Ghosh (clarinet), Idris Rahman (tenor saxophone), Liran Donin (double bass), Aref Durvesh (tabla and dholak), Kishon Khan (piano) and Myke Wilson (drums).
Friday 23 | 8.45pm | £6 advance £7on the door | Book online
Electroacoustic Club
Show Without Punch
Show Without Punch is a piano-led trio, sitting somewhere between Tom Waits and Regina Spektor, ranging from bitter tongue-in-cheek perfect pop-ballads through to funk, skiffle and even a little drum'n'bass.
Roger Illingworth provides gruff vocals over percussive piano lines, backed by Adam Jarvis on upright and electric bass, and Raph Saib on drums.
The band's self-titled debut album is a collection of 13 songs that draws on the deep well of popular song: a tired, worn James Brown on "Baby Cakes"; an insistent and drunken Shane MacGowen on the ballad "Come On Home"; a long Icelandic post-rock build on "Peace". There's even a touch of Steve Reich in the dense rhythms of "Worm and Coxcomb".
Blue Rose Code
Hailing from Edinburgh, via Bethnal Green, singer-songwriter, Ross Wilson, describes the sweet, jazz-inflected sound of his ever-mutating collective, as 'Caledonian Soul.'
We'd go father, to compare his yearning songs and distinctively Celtic tones to a younger Van Morrison gone down-tempo after being ship-wrecked on remote a Scottish islet with only John Martyn and a few classic albums for company.
The band have supported acts as diverse as John Renbourn, Lou Rhodes and Viking Moses and performed with noted Scottish jazz and folk double bassist, Tom Lyne.
'Self-styled 'Caledonian soul' from Blue Rose Code, who flash the influences of Van Morrison and John Martyn and add subtle jazz notes.' (Time Out)
Sam Carter
Originally from Rutland, East Midlands but now living in Stoke Newington Sam Carter is a truly exceptional voice and finger-picking guitarist, who, at the age of 24, already has an impressive CV.
As well as sharing a stage with acts such as Findlay Brown, John Smith, Davey Graham and Spiers & Boden, he is also currently receiving guitar tuition and all-round sound advice from the legendary Martin Simpson, and performs and co-writes with Liam Bailey.
Most notably, he was took part in a collaborative project with Nitin Sawhney called Aftershock which culminated in a gig at the Royal Festival Hall. As a result of this he has been appointed Emerging Artist In Residence at the Southbank Centre and features on Sawhney's forthcoming album, 'London Undersound. 'Sam Carter plays his guitar like a harp.' [Time Out]
Saturday 24 | 8.45pm | £12 | Book online
John Etheridge Blue Spirits
John Etheridge is capable of playing anything from straightahead jazz, through blues and ‘progressive’ rock, to Zappa material, and in many respects is the archetypal Vortex performer – virtuosic, witty, jazz-centred but open-eared.
Blue Spirits play soul-jazz-type material in a relatively informal groove and with his trademark quick-thinking fluency, John is a great performer with a relaxed and appealing stage manner. With Pete Whittaker (organ) and Mike Pickering (drums).
Sunday 25
Closed for a private function
Monday 26 | 8.45pm | £8 | Book online
Evelyn Petrova and Alexander Balanescu duo
The brilliant young Russian star on the international new music scene Evelyn Petrova (accordion and voice) is joined by the doyen of new music Alexander Balanescu (violin) to create a blend of structured, warm and heartfelt, hysterical and shrieking authentic Russian singing, hypnotising sadness, and Piazzolla-like driving rhythms.
Tuesday 27 | 8.45pm | £8 | Book online
Holly Penfield
One of the world's new great entertainers, Holly is also perhaps one of the best kept secrets in the jazz singing world. Voted 'best Edinburgh Fringe singer 2007', you only have to see her live to experience a night you'll never forget.
Her inspirations are as diverse as Nina Simone, Johnny Hartman, Edith Piaf, Laura Nyro, Tom Waits and Judy Garland.
The band line-up is RobTaggert (piano), Oli Hayhurst (bass), Julian Saul (drums) and Ian Ritchie (saxophone).
'Singer is to weak a word to describe Holly Penfield.This Holly does not go lightly and is more like a one-woman explosion on stage.'
Wednesday 28 | 8.45pm | £8 | Book online
Jonathan Bratoeff Quartet
F-ire Collective guitarist Jonathan Bratoeff is a thoughtful, delicate yet powerful soloist, more interested in exploring his tunes' possibilities than in the showy effects or blistering runs that characterise many guitarists' playing.
With Mark Hanslip (tenor sax), Tom Mason (bass) and James Maddren (drums).
'Acclaimed French guitarist performs his highly distinctive, at times edgy jazz that can swerve between painterly introspection and explosive rock solos' (Time Out).
Thursday 29 | 8.45pm | £8 | Book online
Evan Parker Quartet
Saxophonist Evan Parker is joined by pianist Alexander Hawkins – (‘...a no-holds-barred approach toward playing music grounded in the original seminal free spirit of jazz’ – All About Jazz) – bassist Dominic Lash ('free-bass don' – Time Out) and Tony Marsh (drums).
Friday 30 | 8.45pm | £10 | Book online
Julian Siegel Quartet
Close Up 2008
The Quartet has made a major impact on the UK jazz scene since the release of the debut album – 'Close-up' (SoundCD1001).
Working a fluent bebop intensity into a fresh modern sound, Julian has established himself as both a remarkable writer and a powerful player on the European scene. He has just been awarded the BBC Jazz Award 2007 for Best Instrumentalist.
Julian has toured with bands led by Hermeto Pascoal and Andrew Hill and in 2007 toured with with US improvising stars Joey Baron and Greg Cohen. He also co-leads the influential quartet 'Partisans' with guitarist Phil Robson
Here, Siegel has chosen to work with the current generation's most distinctive voices to create a quartet that is becoming one of the most in demand acoustic quartets on the current jazz scene.
Julian Siegel (saxophones and clarinets), Liam Noble (piano), Oli Hayhurst (double bass), Gene Calderazzo (drums). 'Entirely distinctive and very original' (The Observer). 'Virtuoso postbop quartet' (John Fordham The Guardian).
Saturday 31 | 8.45pm | £12 | Book online
Carol Grimes
The legendary jazz, blues, worldbeat and improv singer has been for over four decades one of the great British female vocalists.
Tonight's gig will be an unplugged, acoustic evening featuring Dorian Ford (piano), Winston Clifford (drums) and Max de Wardener (double-bass).
Dorian Ford has played with many of the musicians involved with the London jazz renaissance of the 1980’s and has received the prestigious Chick Corea Jazz Masters Award from Berklee College of Music.
Max de Wardener is a composer and bass player writing his own music , film and television scores and playing bass for various people.
Winston Clifford is one of Britain's leading jazz drummers. He has worked with Courtney Pine, Bheki Mseleku, Jason Rebello and many others.
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