Vortex Live CD Release Party!!

CD Release Party

Sunday, June 26, from 2:00-5:00

the Cafe at the Somerville Armory,

191 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA.

The Vortex Series just released an amazing cd called Vortex Live. It features adventurous performances by some of the best musicians in the New England area. It took 3 years to cultivate and grow into the 9 track cd that it has become. We are very happy to announce our cd release party which will take place Sunday afternoon June 26 starting at 2:00. Some of our best friends will be there to perform live and you can pick up your very own copy in person. Feel free to check out our CD Baby page as well to sample or to even download our music. The link is right here at the top right hand side of our blog. So please save the time and the date and come on down!

Andy Voelker Trio, b.mez, Todd Brunel Trio

Friday June 17 8:30 at Zumix, 260 Sumner st, E. Boston, MA.
The Vortex Series is proud to welcome the Andy Voelker trio with Jeff Galindo on trombone and Jeff Charland on double bass.
The Andy Voelker Trio plays free explorations and Andy's original compositions ranging from tone poems to swinging tours de forces. Andy has been playing in the saxophone trio setting for years born out of the noticeable lack of actual pianos in the clubs and bars around Boston. The AV Trio chooses compositions and approaches that make it differ from other formats Andy plays in even when the players are the same. He will be joined by Jeff Galindo on trombone and Jeff Charland on bass.

Andy Voelker is a Berklee trained jazz musician who has studied bebop, hard bop, modern jazz, free jazz, avant guard jazz, and so called noise music. Having embraced the Boston free music scene early on, Andy has been able to incorporate many of the techniques and morals of the avant guard into a unique approach that stands out on the Boston improvisation scene.

The vortex is also proud to welcome b.mez, an improvisational loop- and fx-based project featuring members of Birdsongs of the Mesozoic plus guests.
Michael Bierylo/guitar/loops/electronics

Ken Field/sax/flute/loops/electronics
Rick Scott/synthesizer/loops
Encanti/electronic beats/loops
Formed in 1980,post-punk,art-rock pioneers Birdsongs of the Mesozoic are known world-wide for their wide-ranging,innovative instrumental constructions."It's as if Ornette Coleman was in a no-rock band with Bill Frisell and Pat Metheny and the Kronos Quartet suddenly stopped by to get drunk with them on Teleman's grave." -Performer Magazine

In contrast to the compositionally-based Birdsongs, b.mez functions as a nimble landing craft, emphasizing spontaneity and improvisational energy, while retaining the structured sensibility that guides the mother ship.
"Totally sublime and deeply moving." - The Noise

The night will also feature an improvisational trio with Todd Brunel on clarinets and soprano sax, Peter Cassino on piano and Pam Marshall on french horn.

John Tchicai's Six Points

John Tchicai's Six Points: Ascension Unending

Friday, May 20 - 8:30 PM @ Zumix, 260 Sumner St, East Boston

performers: John Tchicai, Garrison Fewell, Alex Weiss, Rosi Hertlein, Dmitry Ishenko, Ches Smith,

John Tchicai's Six Points is a collaborative ensemble consisting of the following six sensible musical personalities: Saxophonist/singer John Tchicai, and with sounds ready for Victoriaville and elsewhere, guitarist Garrison Fewell, along with the bass is "the base" bassist Dmitry Ishenko, totally in tune with herself violinist/singer Rosie Hertlein, excuisite drummer companion Ches Smith, and he who always knows when and where to place the next tone, fabulous saxophonist Alex Weiss.

The ensemble paints wonderful inner landscapes, plays compositions by the group members and improvises solo's, duo's, trio's etc. and continues the way of music communication initiated by John Coltrane on his momentous Ascension recordings.

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By approaching jazz from a wide scope, Afro-Danish-American John Tchicai has been continuously progressive throughout his life. Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1936, of a Danish mother and a Congolese father and growing up in healthy surroundings, John Martin Tchicai became a leading exponent of the jazz avant-garde in New York in the '60s and a father-figure for the European avant-garde after that. Now based in Davis, California, and Claira, France, by a single-mindedness of purpose and action, his work still reflects what he's always been doing, which is innovate and inspires other people, in a most refreshing way. The Danish ministry of Culture recognized his work by awarding him a lifetime grant.