An iconic figure on the UK jazz scene, John Etheridge first came to prominence in the mid 70’s with the classic fusion band “Soft Machine”. During the same time – demonstrating his remarkable and now well-documented versatility – he also spent a number of years touring with the celebrated swing jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli. In recent years he has been busy performing and recording as a solo artist and with his own bands, notably the “Zappatistas” (his tribute to Frank Zappa), “Sweet Chorus” dedicated to Stéphane and “Soft Machine”, with whom he still appears.
The Blue Spirits Trio John is leading tonight is a classic guitar-led jazz organ trio and showcases the bluesier side of John’s musical repertoire. With Pete Whittaker on organ, a superb accompanist as well as soloist and in demand drummer George Double.
‘No doubting his awesome authority whenever he touches the guitar’ ( The Guardian)
‘I never wanted to be a star just a highly respected musician like John Etheridge ‘(Sting –The Guardian 1980)
INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUDIENCE MEMBERS – PLEASE READ
Welcome back to the Vortex. Please note that we’ve implemented the following changes to our systems to make the club as Covid-safe as we can:
- Please buy tickets in advance as there will be no door sales. There will be twenty tickets only onsale for each gig.
- If you want to sit together as a household/bubble we would ask that one person books all the tickets for the group. If you book separately you may be seated separately.
- We ask you not to attend gigs if you have or think you may have any Covid-19 symptoms.
- We will ask you on entry to provide contact details for NHS Test and Trace. If possible please bring your own pen to write down the details.
- There will be no standing at gigs. Everyone who books a ticket will be allocated a seat, but we cannot guarantee that you will have a table.
- Orders for drinks and snacks will be taken at tables ONLY via the Butlr app. We are sorry but for the time being no hot drinks will be available.
- We ask that everyone wears a mask when moving around inside the building.
- We are cashless – we accept contactless payments only, and all drinks can only be purchased through the Butlr app
- We ask everyone to observe social distancing at all times. One metre social distancing will operate in the club space, with mitigations as detailed in the risk assessment which is available on the website.
- Automatic hand sanitiser stations are provided at various places within the building and we encourage regular use of hand sanitiser.