Whirlpool 26/27
The new Whirlpool cohort for 2026/27 has just been announced Sylvie Noble (Voice) Joe Bazalgette (saxophone) Val Cheesborough (guitar) James Leaver-Whitfield (bass) Chris Outhwaite (piano) Noah Ojumu...
View ArticleNicolas Simion
Nicolas Simion who died all too young at the age of 67 on 29 August was a saxophonist who epitomised all that is best in jazz. Originally from Romania, near Sibiu, he had moved to Vienna in 1988...
View ArticleNewsletters 17 July onwards
Our weekly newsletters open with descriptions about the state of jazz and the Vortex. Here are some of the latest. 17 July Can a “format” be live? A lot of discussion in music uses the term about the...
View ArticleWhirlpool at Inntöne, Austria
From Dick Hovenga (Writteninsound.com) We love discovery festivals where young musicians are still at the beginning of their careers, or where seasoned musicians want to explore new directions. One...
View ArticleNewsletters 1 May onwards
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 birth year of two of its most influential...
View ArticleNewsletters 13 February onwards
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 something to be left to the...
View ArticleGlobal Groove by Chris Searle
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 of the genre. This book covers...
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Estelle Kokot
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. She can be classed among the great jazz...
View ArticleThe week ahead, 6 February 2026
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 way of self-expression. A...
View ArticleThe week ahead, 30 January
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, as it’s a not for...
View ArticleThe week ahead, 23 January
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 is an important...
View ArticleNew release on Hideout Records: Until We Meet Again
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 very appropriate, as it’s an...
View ArticleThe week ahead, 16 January
“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 uplifting. So,...
View ArticleThe week ahead, 9 January 2026
“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 or nature. As she wrote:...
View ArticleHans Falb 1954-2025
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 on 26 December. Nickelsdorf,...
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Chris Pugh
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 dies, it leaves a gap for us. Chris was...
View ArticleThe week ahead – 28 November
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 hence remind people...
View ArticleThe Week Ahead – 10 October 2025
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.” It’s...
View ArticleWhirlpool 2025/26
Whirlpool Series at the Vortex 2025/26 (October 2025) The Vortex is happy to announce the curators in the forthcoming year’s cohort for its Whirlpool series. The curators for the next year are:...
View ArticleThe week ahead – 3 October
Amazingly for a venue that puts on over 300 concerts a year, The Vortex survives with just a small team of highly committed paid staff. This week we finally say “au revoir” to Pauline who has been...
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