Evan Parker and Dave Holland Photo from Vortex website

Editor-at-Large Peter Bacon writes:

Talk about a meeting of the giants! We’re in Thor and Goliath territory here… Saxophonist Evan Parker and double bass player Dave Holland will be playing a very special duo date at the Vortex on Friday 2 March 2018. It’s a Vortex fund-raiser with 100% of ticket sales going to support the club.

Though the friendship of Parker and Holland goes back a long way,  an opportunity to see up-close these two musicians working together is a rare one indeed. The Vortex reminds us of their connections:

Holland and Parker have been friends since first meeting in London in the 1960s. During that time they performed together frequently, often at The Little Theater Club, and played on the landmark recording Karyobin which has just been remixed and reissued on Emanem Records. Holland and Parker, along with Craig Taborn and Ches Smith, appear on a new recording Uncharted Territories, due for release in May 2018 on Dare2 Records.

Parker, who has had a monthly residency at the club for a number of years, described the Vortex as “my haven from the demands of the road… the Vortex is for me, a space to play ‘free jazz’. I cannot imagine life without it”. New York-based Holland has dropped into the club on a few occasions to take in the odd Evan Parker gig as well as to take in the unique Vortex vibe created by the musicians who perform here and volunteers who look after the place. Holland says “…the Vortex plays a vital role in the cultural life of London providing performance opportunities for both a UK and international community of musicians… its imaginative programming introduces new listening experiences to its audience”.

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There will be two individually-ticketed sets on the night, one at 8.15pm and one at 10pm. Entrance to each set is £50 for the first two rows, £40 the rest. In addition, Parker and Holland have donated a track called Bass and Tenor Duet to the Vortex, and it can be downloaded from the club’s website.

LINK: Vortex event details, booking and donation track download