Aubin Vanns and Michael Shrimpling collage from the Vortex website

The recent Dave Holland/Evan Parker fund-raiser at the Vortex has spawned a fund to support young musicians. The first showcase is on Monday. Peter Bacon reports:

It started with a duo gig from two giants of the jazz world, and will ultimately benefit those climbing the first rungs on the jazz ladder. The Shape Of Jazz To Come is the title of what it is hoped will become a regular showcase of young talent.

Dave Holland explained: “Last month Evan Parker and I held a successful fund raising concert at the Vortex and I want to thank all those that came and gave their generous support to the event. As a result we have established a fund that will be used to support the presentation of special events, including evenings showcasing many of the talented young artists that are in the UK.

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“The first of these will occur on International Jazz Day, April 30th, and will feature two groups, one from the Royal Academy of Music and one from Trinity College. It’s our intention to make this a regular event, giving the dedicated Vortex audience a chance to hear some of the great young musicians present their vision for the future of the music. We hope you’ll give them your support.”

Monday’s double bill features the Aubin Vanns Trio + 1 from the Royal Academy, and the Michael Shrimpling Quartet from Trinity Laban.

Aubin Vanns is a guitarist and AVT’s music is described thus: “Flashes of brightness and colourful streaks contrast with dark, brooding ambience. AVT spin their own common thread from eclectic fibres, with a typically post-modern list of influences including Richard Strauss, Jim Hall and Neil Young. Purely abstract compositions nestle with pieces written to words by Yeats and Kerouac.” Vanns, double bassist Will Sach and drummer Jay Davis will be joined by fellow Royal Academy student Alberto Palau Garcera on piano.

Michael Shrimpling is a double bassist and his quartet has Joe Elliott on tenor saxophone, George Melton on guitar and Will Cleasby on drums. According to the Vortex blurb: “With a collective passion for the free jazz tradition pioneered by Ornette Coleman, Michael and his band will present a set of music inspired by the great composers of this broad and exciting jazz lineage.”

Nick Smart, head of jazz at the Royal Academy of Music, said: “The Vortex provides a vital outlet for creative and community expression, and I hope this new monthly night will pave the way for future generations to nurture their own relationship and sense of history with the club.”

Hans Koller, head of jazz at Trinity Laban, added: “I think that jazz education can only come alive and develop in the interaction of ‘the street and the school’. The Vortex plays a vital part in the process of everybody’s learning. And of course in our music we are all eternal students. Please support the Vortex, it’s the future.”

LINK: The Shape Of Jazz To Come at the Vortex