The football season is upon us. It’s a sport which, in its structure, has many similarities to jazz. Not least, there are two halves each of 45 minutes: not much difference from a jazz gig. No one quite knows exactly how it’ll pan out before turning up to the match/gig. A need for teamwork, intuitive skill from years of practice/training – and there’s a lot of improvisation. Meanwhile, a good solo has a similarity to a goal, in what it gets in response during the gig. Of course, there are differences. Premier League footballers, in contrast to premier jazz musicians, earn a lot more (!), we don’t have the numbers attending football. And yet the matches can be very variable in quality, even with the best players. Unlike the gigs at the Vortex, where the music is almost invariably excellently played and much better value, in our opinion at least. (Indeed, when we created football “accompaniment” to the World Cup in 2010, John Fordham in a review of England in the Guardian gave the football one star, but the music four!)
Similarly, like football, jazz encourages passion amongst its fans, something which comes over so clearly at the Vortex. Though we tend not to have much chanting or noise during the performance. Audiences express their appreciation in a much more subdued manner, applauding or buying the merchandise.
The weekend starts with a true jazz “bang”. Julian Siegel with his stunning quartet tonight (5th September), and then tomorrow (6th September), we have Hans Koller with Tony Kofi and Calum Gourlay digging into the repertoire of Thelonious Monk.
Then we are lucky to have in on 11th, a special double bill of the best of free improvised jazz, with two of our great drummers, from different generations. Eddie Prévost, known back since the 60s for his work with AMM and beyond, while Mark Sanders is certainly a playmaker of music, who has a delicacy and potency unmatched, in a quartet including the modest power of Rachel Musson. There are also guitarists a-plenty by the weekend: our double strike force of Billy Marrows and Elliot Frost on 12th and John Etheridge on 13th, who counts in the jazz world as the equal of Messi and able to score solos (goals?) as more than a match of Alexander Isak but at a fraction of the price.
5 Julian Siegel Quartet
One of the true greats of British jazz, saxophonist Julian Siegel’s quartet is probably now the pre-eminent trailblazer for the jazz quartet, which takes the influence of some of the jazz greats such as Wayne Shorter and makes them truly his own. The band includes Liam Noble on piano and Gene Calderazzo on drums.
6 Koller/Kofi/Gourlay/Ojumu
Hans Koller and Calum Gourlay were co-founders of the group Thelonious, which developed the repertoire of Thelonious Monk regularly at the Vortex for several years. Having built such an understanding, they return to revisit this music together with the effervescent Tony Kofi and hotshot drummer Noah Ojumu.
6 (Downstairs Late) Vortex Lates: Liminal
Liminal is a London/ Bristol based band, presenting a unique blend of deconstructed elements from rock, jazz, americana and electronic music with the experimental sensitivities of long-form collective electroacoustic improvisation. A bargain at just £6, and of course, there’s no problem with all-night trains from Dalston Junction.
7 (Afternoon) London Jazz Orchestra Session – Pete Hurt Special
The LJO big band has been playing at the club for over 30 years. It starts its new season with an afternoon dedicated to long-standing member Pete Hurt. “A distinctive and hugely resourceful composer.” (The Guardian)
7 Vortex Jam Session with Olly Chalk
Each week, our upstairs session is hosted by a musician who not has a reputation in his own right, but also directs the musicians during the jam. Olly Chalk is one of the most dynamic and engaging of the new generation of pianists. Unmissable in his own right
10 (Downstairs early) Kurtis Li Quatet
Guitarist and composer Kurtis Li, Hong Kong born, but based here, plays a selection of music based around her recent acclaimed album Bloom. “An expressionof curiosity and woner at the surrounding world, or excitement and perhaps, enviably, of fulfilment” (Jazzwise)
10 Rick Simpson Trio
It’s a privilege that Rick Simpson has developed many of his projects at the Vortex. Here we A new piano trio including the bass of Dave Whitford and drums of Tim Giles. Most recently we know Rick mainly from the quartet Bag of Bones, but he has performed the biggest venues, such as the Barbican with the likes of Soweto Kinch. “Multi-layered textures, crunchy sonorities and sensitive voicing.” (Cross-Eyed Pianist)
12 (Downstairs early)
Ackerley/Musson/Wallace/Sanders
Two of our truly great improvisers, Rachel Musson and Mark Sanders invite two New York-based musicians to join them (and us, of course): guitarist Jessica Ackerley (“Exciting, according to The Wire) and pianist Eli Wallace (“Pushing the boundaries of the prepared piano”, according to John Lewis at The Guardian)
11 Eddie Prevost, Silvan Schmid, Tom Wheatley
The evening continues with another of the great father figures of improvised drumming, Eddie Prevost, with trumpeter Silvan Schmid and bassist Wheatley. “In-the-moment music, at any time full of future possibilities, full of intensity, openness and unexpected next moves, like chess-players who decided to smartly engage for the fun of moving without any ambition to win.” (Free Jazz Blog)
12 Elliot Frost/Billy Marrows Quartet
A double guitar led quartet playing originals and music by the likes of Keith Jarrett and Paul Motian. Such line ups are always thrilling because of the interplay and variety generated. In this case, Billy Marrows, whom we have known recently for his Grande Familia ensemble, is joined by Elliot Frost, whose most recent album included Chris Cheek, Desmond Wilte and Colin Stranahan – a New York “A List”!
13 John Etheridge Blue Spirits Trio
Guitarist John Etheridge is beyond legendary! He brings together such a range of styles, ranging from times with Stepane Grappelli, John Williams and Nigel Kennedy, and who was here last to celebrate 50 years as a member of Soft Machine. So lucky to have him in the intimacy of the Vortex.