Upcoming gigs recommended by: Rob Luft
Recently crowned ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’ at the 2025 Parliamentary Jazz Awards, Rob Luft is undeniably one of the most exciting jazz guitarists in Europe of his generation. Hailing from […]
Recently crowned ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’ at the 2025 Parliamentary Jazz Awards, Rob Luft is undeniably one of the most exciting jazz guitarists in Europe of his generation. Hailing from […]
Oliver Weindling writes: Adam was the mover and shaker behind much of the revival of Dalston, in a manner sensitive to the community. Certainly a visionary. As head of Hackney […]
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 (drums) The musicians […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Our weekly newsletters open with descriptions about the state of jazz and the Vortex. Here are some of the latest. 1 May 1926 was a seminal year for jazz. Not […]
Our weekly newsletters open with descriptions about the state of jazz and the Vortex. Here are some of the latest. 13 Feb Is live music a luxury or necessity? From […]
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 […]