The Vortex is happy to announce the curators in the forthcoming year’s cohort for its Whirlpool series. The first concert will be at the end of September.
The curators for the next year are –
Guildhall School:
Jemima Whyte (saxophone)
Julian Woods (guitar)
Royal Academy of Music:
Jonah Evans (drums)
Rik van der Made (saxophone)
Ashley Bonfante (saxophone)
Trinity Laban:
Jacob Gryn (bass)
Tom O’Brien (piano)
The musicians were chosen in partnership with the heads of the jazz courses at London’s three main conservatoires. They have all just completed their degrees.
Oliver Weindling, Director at Vortex Jazz Club, says:
“We are so happy to be continuing this series and making friends with the new exciting generation of musicians appearing on the scene. The last series was a blast, and we’re flattered by the progress that the musicians are making. We won’t forget the last round of curators and shall do all that we can to help launch these new curators too on their careers. Not just by giving them a window to show their work, but also to be available to help them out in other ways as appropriate.”
Whirlpool was created in 2023, in order to help musicians embark on their musical careers, as it helps fill the gap for them in which they find themselves immediately after they graduate. It is named after the album of pianist John Taylor, who was a regular at the Vortex for many years, and indeed was the first person to use our current piano! The scheme consists of a monthly series of gigs, where each of the curators gets to perform original music, and looks to make contacts with musicians who had been on other jazz courses.
Last year’s curators initiated a number of interesting musical themed evenings, and some are already making waves throughout the jazz scene. For example, Kasper Rietkerk is programming Parakeet in Kentish Town and also recently won the Brubeck Legacy Prize for Composition. Rebecka Edlund has started a video blog called The Tea Hive.
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For more information contact Oliver Weindling, oliver@vortexjazz.co.uk 07773373317