Line-up:
Tori Freestone – saxophone
Alcyona Mick – piano
About
Tori and Alcyona formed their duo in 2015 after being invited to perform together at the Manchester Jazz Festival.
Both much in demand players on the London jazz scene, the two have known each other for years, working together in many different ensembles including Ingrid and Christine Jensen Whirlwind bigband, Nikki Iles Big band, Cleo Laine/Alec Dankworth band, and are permanent members of the London Jazz Orchestra.
They recorded their debut album ‘Criss Cross’ at the famous Artesuono Studio in Italy in 2017. It was released on the transatlantic label Whirlwind recordings in 2018 to wide critical acclaim followed by an Arts Council funded tour of the UK and Germany with live radio performances.
The duo have a very spontaneous, interactive approach and share a large range of musical influences that fall not only within the jazz genre, including English folk, Brazilian music, free playing, Monk and more.
During 2020-21 they were had the unique opportunity to perform together at the ‘Up and Down’ Jazz and World music festival in the Canary Islands despite the challenges and restrictions posed by Covid-19 and this was streamed to a UK audience in partnership with the Vortex Jazz Club in London. Since then they have been waiting and developing new material together online much of which will be premiered at the Vortex, London and St Mary’s Perivale in May 2021.
‘In a tightly held discourse there grows this never before heard sound, full of esprit, insight, experience and joie de vivre’ – Concerto Magazine, Austria ‘
The no-hiding-place exposure of an improvising sax/piano duo is a tough call but the British pairing of pianist Alcyona Mick and tenor saxophonist Tori Freestone make light of it’ – The Guardian, ‘Jazz Album of the Month’ **** review ‘
Elegant, engaging and original music, played with magnificent panache’ – All About Jazz **** review
‘The tracks contain some of the finest interplay I have heard since Stan Getz and Kenny Barron recorded People Time, the playing is that wondrous…..Without a doubt one of the finest albums of the year’ -Jazz Journal **** review
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 on sale for each gig.
- If you want to sit together with other people as a group we would ask that one person books all the tickets for the group, so that we are aware that you want to sit together.
- Up to six people may sit together as a group (unless the group consists of two households only in which case more than six may sit together).
- 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 sign in for NHS Test and Trace using the NHS Covid app (or, if you do not have a smartphone. we will ask you to sign in manually)
- 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 and paid for using the Butlr app which you can download on arrival. (If you do not have a smartphone then your order will be taken at the table and you can make a contactless payment. We do not accept cash.)
- We ask that everyone wears a mask when moving around inside the building.
- We ask everyone to observe social distancing at all times.
- Automatic hand sanitiser stations are provided at various places within the building and we encourage regular use of hand sanitiser.
- Full details of the measures that we are taking to prevent transmission of Covid are set out in our risk assessment and management plan which can be found on our website.