5 members of this year’s Whirlpool played at Inntoene Festival, 14-16 August. Lior Solomons-Wise (piano), Jonah Phillips (drums), Dom Howard (guitar), Oli Fitzgerald (double bass) and Barney Anderson (guitar) From […]
1 May 1926 was a seminal year for jazz. Not just for the actual music that year, such as the Louis Armstrong Hot Five recordings, but because it was the […]
13 Feb Is live music a luxury or necessity? From the way that it sometimes gets dismissed nowadays, such as being starved of government resources, one might think that it’s […]
Global Groove Words of a Jazz Cosmos by Chris Searle (Jazz in Britain) Chris Searle has been listening to jazz for more than 70 years, encompassing most of the existence […]
Estelle Kokot who suddenly died on 15 February at age 63 was a true one-off. A regular at the Vortex for over 20 years, since she arrived from South Africa. […]
A feature that we notice, and indeed encourage, from so many of the bands that we hear at the Vortex is “authenticity” developed through a productive struggle. In effect a […]
This week is Independent Venues Week, celebration of independent music & arts venues and the people that own, run and work in them. Of course, nobody actually “owns” the Vortex, […]
Michael League of Snarky Puppy calls jazz musicians “human algorithms”. While there is so much music being uploaded to the streaming services every day, a jazz club like the Vortex […]
Until We Meet Again Avin Ahmadi & Lorenz Widauer Release: 28. November 2025 | Hideout Records We don’t include many new releases on this site. But this one seemed […]
“Music is a legal performance-enhancing drug.” Thus wrote Professor Daisy Fancourt recently in the Guardian. Perhaps this is a reason why attending live music at the Vortex can be so […]
“Unselfing” is, according to author and philosopher Iris Murdoch, an important way to keep sane and be energised: it is achieved by immersing oneself in a work of art, music […]
A version of this also appeared on UK Jazz News Hans Falb, founder and director for 45 years of Nickelsdorf Konfrontationen festival in Austria, died at the age of 71 […]
Chris Pugh The Vortex is a community. So our regulars such as audience or volunteers are as important to us as musicians. So, when a regular like Chris sadly […]
We are in an interdependent world, not just economically but also creatively. When able financially, we happily invite some of the great musicians around to play at the club. And […]
The EFG London Jazz Festival ends soon. We have enjoyed it at the Vortex so far. Such a diversity, within a world where we can offer good value to you […]
The EFG London Jazz Festival has landed! 16 days of carefully curated gigs, all worth attending. Indeed when Shabaka Hutchings was asked for recommendations on the official promotional video for […]
“Christmas is coming.” So have you thought about Vortex merch? We have a great selection for you. T shirts, mugs and tote bags. All great value and every penny helps […]
In the promotional video for the latest EFG London Jazz Festival, Shabaka, when asked for his recommendations of what to attend, replies: “ANYTHING AT THE VORTEX.” Our active programme of […]
Allen Ginsberg, the beat poet, wrote: “Jazz gives us a way of expressing the spontaneous motions of the heart. It’s like a fountain of instantaneous inspiration that’s available to everybody.” […]
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 […]