Events

Rewired is the new acoustic trio project from acclaimed composer, arranger and pianist, Janette Mason.

A weekly session on Sunday evenings, the jams will be hosted by four of London’s finest: drummer Jas Kayser, pianist Rick Simpson, tenor saxophonists Helena Kay and Riley Stone-Lonergan (+ a few guests), each one hosting one session on rotation.

Intense and focussed improvisations from this new quintet. One set.

Ackerley, Wallace and Ghezzi will present a concert featuring compositions by each artist in a song cycle woven with spontaneous interludes as an inquiry into causes and broader social issues such as climate change impact.

Dynamic saxophonist, composer and arranger, Asha Parkinson founded Kalpadruma in 2017 to explore exciting meeting points between Jazz, Contemporary Classical, Flamenco, Mediterranean, Arab and Indian musics.

Bassist John Williamson presents an all-star six-piece lineup to launch The Northern Sea, his first album as composer/bandleader, produced by Nikki Iles and set for release in July 2024. Advance copies of the album will be available to buy at the gig.

Coco Mbassi returns to the Vortex with a quartet featuring French and UK jazz musicians performing some of her latest songs!

For this special night at the Vortex Jazz Club, Niklas Lukassen merges his talents as a composer, bassist and vocalist to debut some entirely new compositions in a line up that promise to reveal striking musical depths.

More info coming soon

ONe_Orchestra New is a large group of improvising musicians brought together by Caroline Kraabel and made up of women and trans/non-binary people.

Curated by cellist Shirley Smart, Creations features a set by invited artists from the UKs vibrant free improvisation scene, followed by an acoustic jam session.

Inner Space plays Jazz of a rare warmth and immediacy. Speyer’s compositions for the band create spaces for free playing where the group can explore new areas and discover where the music might GO – while drawing deeply on the Jazz tradition, all the way back to Bebop and New Orleans.

Described by Jazzwise as an “inexhaustable creative powerhouse” leading bassist and composer Ferg Ireland brings a new specially assembled Quartet to the Vortex for this debut performance.

Our monthly late-night series brings songwriters together to perform in the round, hosted by Matthew Herd. Tonight we welcome Sam Griffiths to the Dalston Song Club, Sam is one of the country’s most acclaimed songwriters and the genius behind The Howl & The Hum.

An exciting organ jazz trio led by veteran, multi award-winning UK guitarist, Jim Mullen

Exceptionally no jam session this week due to football distractions, we’ll be back on Sunday 21st July. Tickets available soon.

OWL Quartet is a new double trumpet group co-led by London-based Charlotte Keeffe and Norwich-based Chris Dowding.

Stablefolk plays warm, tonal music, with a strong sense of home. This contemporary jazz band is fronted by James Pettinger, who draws sounds from folk, singer-songwriters, and music that falls between the cracks.

Becca Wilkins’ latest project ‘rêverie’ is a collection of French Chanson, reimagined with her trio of Olly Chalk (piano), Sam Ingvorsen (bass) and Billy Pod (drums).

Exciting, playful and inventive; saxophonist Art Themen has been a beloved character of the British jazz scene for over 60 years, famously combining his role as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon with saxophone duties in the bands of Alexis Korner and Stan Tracey among many others. Described by The Observer as “One of the tiny handful of undeniably perfect jazz musicians”, he remains as brilliant and inimitable as ever.

Rachael Cohen presents her international Trio featuring Joe Downard on double bass and New York drummer Jason Brown. Their unique sound is crafted around Cohen’s original music, with carefully selected standards making an appearance shrouded in cleverly written arrangements. A rare opportunity to see this outstanding trio.

Three thrilling improvisers come together to explore standards, original material and collective improvising in an intimate, one off night of music.

Come & join us for another special Mopomoso featuring Alati ~ Chris Dowding (trumpet), Brigitte Beraha (vocals) & Dave O’ Brien (piano) + Matt Rogers (voice) & Benedict Taylor (viola) + Sophie Sleigh-Johnson (voice, performance) & Adam Bohman (amplified objects)

A weekly session on Sunday evenings, the jams will be hosted by four of London’s finest: drummer Jas Kayser, pianist Rick Simpson, tenor saxophonists Helena Kay and Riley Stone-Lonergan (+ a few guests), each one hosting one session on rotation.

After his ‘sold out’ debut concert at last year’s London Jazz Festival, pianist/composer Basil Hodge returns to The Vortex with his popular and powerful quartet featuring sax ace Riley Stone-Lonergan

Julian Woods and Caius Williams present a new improvising quintet, featuring Steve Beresford, Tom Challenger and Theo Guttenplan.

Playing a mixture of original compositions written by each member of the trio

Known for her powerful technique, wide-ranging imagination and exuberant performance, she has become a highly sought-after musician on the international jazz scene.  A MOBO Award winner, Mercury Prize nominee and Ivor Novello Impact Award winner, Zoe is a unique presence in the British music industry.

Join MOJO and singer Catherine Lima for another fantastic mix of classic and contemporary big band tunes!

A weekly session on Sunday evenings, the jams will be hosted by four of London’s finest: drummer Jas Kayser, pianist Rick Simpson, tenor saxophonists Helena Kay and Riley Stone-Lonergan (+ a few guests), each one hosting one session on rotation.

Berlin-based saxophonist Phillip Dornbusch joins three of the most exciting and engaging musicians in the UK for a special concert.

Finnish jazz guitarist Olli Soikkeli returns to the Vortex for an evening of gypsy jazz with his trio featuring Eleazar Ruiz (double bass) and Steve Brown (drums).

Tonight, Sam Leak premieres new music—his first new compositions since 2020—with a new band featuring bassist Tom Farmer (Empirical) and NYC-based drummer Jason Brown (Cedar Walton).

John Etheridge’s reputation in the jazz world cannot be overstated. A genuinely virtuosic fusion guitarist, Etheridge is one of a handful of players who can claim to have helped shape the character of modern jazz guitar.

A weekly session on Sunday evenings, the jams will be hosted by four of London’s finest: drummer Jas Kayser, pianist Rick Simpson, tenor saxophonists Helena Kay and Riley Stone-Lonergan (+ a few guests), each one hosting one session on rotation.

Elchin Shirinov is a jazz pianist, composer and arranger, originally from Azerbaijan. Most recently he was included in All About Jazz’s December 2022 poll of the top 200 favourite living pianists in the world. From 2018 to Oct 2022 he was a member of the famous jazz double bassist Avishai Cohen’s trio.

London based German violinist and singer Johanna Burnheart carves her own niche with a unique mix of modal jazz and electronic works.

For this project, world renowned tuba player and improvisor Oren Marshall takes us on a journey east to his Arabic roots and invites a jazz drummer and a master violinist from India to join him in spontaneous musical and cultural exchange.

Our monthly late night series brings songwriters together to perform in the round, hosted by Matthew Herd.
This month features the widely celebrated Scottish folk vocalist and songwriter Siobhan Miller.

Saxophonist Jean Toussaint presents a special edition of his quartet JT5

A weekly session on Sunday evenings, the jams will be hosted by four of London’s finest: drummer Jas Kayser, pianist Rick Simpson, tenor saxophonists Helena Kay and Riley Stone-Lonergan (+ a few guests), each one hosting one session on rotation.

Award-winning saxophonist and recorder player Tom Ridout returns to the Vortex with his quintet featuring Billy Marrows (guitar), Harry Ashworth (piano), Conor Chaplin (bass) and Rod Oughton (drums).

The History of Cardenio is a symphonic poem whose characters go through betrayal, madness, loneliness and impossible love. Composed for trumpet, drums and double bass, the work retraces musically one of the stories contained in Cervantes’ Don Quixote, whose plot was brought to the stage by William Shakespeare.

Davis/Lockheart/Williams is a trio that shifts moment to moment, stitching together original compositions, and well known songs alike, with music that simultaneously offers explorative grace and the darkest depths of dirge.

Warm, reflective, open-hearted and lyrical jazz. A Hologram Maze is led by pianist/composer David Austin Grey.

Five of the UK’s finest improvisers, all close friends, who bring a deep sense of understanding and common purpose to each composition.