The Vortex welcomes Evan Parker for his monthly residency
EVAN PARKER
saxophone
A major force in European improvising, Evan Parker has collaborated with everyone from Cecil Taylor, Paul Bley & Anthony Braxton, to Scott Walker, Robert Wyatt and Squarepusher. He is one of Europe’s most innovative and intriguing saxophonists, which is why he keeps audiences coming back for more.
“If you’ve ever been tempted by free improvisation, Parker is your gateway drug.” Stewart Lee
“The Vortex is, for me, a place to play “free jazz”. I cannot imagine life without it.” Evan Parker
JOHN RUSSELL
guitar
John Russell got his first guitar in 1965 while living in Kent and began to play in and around London from 1971 onwards. An early involvement with the emerging free improvisation scene (from 1972) followed, seeing him play in such places as The Little Theatre Club, Ronnie Scott’s, The Institute of Contemporary Arts, The Musicians’ Co-Op and the London Musicians’ Collective.
“for Russell the fingerboard is apparently multiple. He finds new tones in the same place, new relationships in the same gesture. A second trip across the fingerboard is always a different excursion. The harmonic is a transparent sound: silence and ambient sound pass through it. It accounts for Russell’s unhurried pace and his sense of order, even when he’s playing fast: there’s simply so much going on.” Stuart Broomer, Point of Departure
From 1974 his work extended into teaching, broadcasts (radio and television) and touring in the United Kingdom and, ever extensively, in other countries around the world . He has played with many of the world’s leading improvisers and his work can be heard on over 50 CDs. In 1981, he founded QUAQUA, a large bank of improvisers put together in different combinations for specific projects and, in 1991, he started MOPOMOSO which has become the UK’s longest running concert series featuring mainly improvised music.
JOHN EDWARDS
double bass
John Edwards is a true virtuoso whose staggering range of techniques and boundless musical imagination have redefined the possibility of the double bass and dramatically expanded its role, whether playing solo or with others. Perpetually in demand, he has played with Evan Parker, Sunny Murray, Derek Bailey, Joe McPhee, Lol Coxhill, Peter Brötzmann, Mulatu Astatke and many others.