Whirlpool Series at the Vortex 2025/26
First gig: 6 November
(21 October 2025)
The Whirlpool series has developed out of a perception that there is virtually no assistance for young musicians immediately after they finish their courses and they may be overwhelmed at how to take start out on their careers. And, from our position at the heart of the London scene we at the Vortex are very aware that we need to help integrate the new generation of London musicians into the scene.
So the Whirlpool series proves that the club is indeed a welcoming spot that encourages, by giving at least a few the chance to try out new ideas and also make new acquaintances.
The Vortex is happy to announce the curators in the 2025/26 cohort for its Whirlpool series.
The curators for the next year are:
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Jonah Phillips (drums)
Lior Solomons-Wise (piano)
Royal Academy of Music:
Ananda Brandao (drums)
Dom Howard (guitar)
Trinity Laban:
Oli Fitzgerald (bass)
Barney Anderson (guitar)
Olivia Hughes (trombone)
The musicians were chosen in partnership with the heads of the jazz courses at three of London’s main conservatoires. The scheme consists of a monthly series of gigs, where each of the curators gets to perform original music, and looks to make contacts with musicians who had been on other jazz courses. They will be mentored by people from The Vortex as well as Sam Eastmond, a trumpeter who has recorded three big band albums of John Zorn’s music.
The first gig on 6 November will include new music by all the curators, to be followed by monthly gigs, focusing on specific members to curate.
Background
Whirlpool was created in 2023, in order to help musicians embark on their musical careers through working together on curating gigs, as it helps fill the gap for them in which they find themselves immediately after they graduate. There is nothing like this currently in London. Musicians meet from across the colleges. (It is named after the album of pianist and educator John Taylor, who was a regular at the Vortex for many years, and indeed was the first person to use our current piano!)
Several of the first two cohorts went to the prestigious Inntoene Festival in Austria, and got a tremendous response. For example, Dick Hovenga writing for the prestigious Drowned in Music in Netherlands wrote: “What a promising group of musicians this is and what a musical ingenuity they show so early in their musical careers. I was once again completely sold by their talent.”
Musicians from previous Whirlpool series are already making major impact. Kasper Rietkerk, part of the first cohort in 2023 in particular has just won the prestigious Jazz (Edison) Prize for Best Newcomer in the Netherlands. Julian Woods, from the more recent group, has completed his second tour of Austria and is about to record with Tim Berne.
Oliver Weindling, Director at Vortex Jazz Club, says:
“We are so happy to be continuing this series and making friends with the new exciting generation of musicians appearing on the scene. The last series was a blast, and we’re flattered by the progress that the musicians are making. The musicians made a great impact when they did a residency at Inntöne Festival in Austria and the buzz continues. The series has several functions. Encouraging musicians to curate an evening of new music and making contacts further afield.”
The Whirlpool Series is currently funded totally from internal resources of the Vortex. We are looking for additional sources of funding and partners to extend the reach and extent of the project. All suggestions welcomed.
It’s a growing family! Past members:
Rebecka Edlund, Caius Williams, Jonah Evans, Kasper Rietkerk, Rick van der Made, Ashley Bonfante, Marta Gornitzka, Tom O’Brien, Julian Woods, Jem Whyte, Jakub Klimiuk, Alex Lockheart
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For more information contact Oliver Weindling, oliver@vortexjazz.co.uk +44 7773373317