As mentioned in a previous blog, we began this 6-week tour in London at the Nehru Centre performing for a predominantly south Asian audience. With a good house, including interviews and live coverage by ZEE TV (Zed TV in Canada) and a very enthusiastic crowd, the tour felt like it got to an auspicious start.
Fast forward to September 2nd where we completed our first UK leg of the tour in London with our performance at the Vortex Jazz Club.
This club was hidden within Gillett Square.
Navigational note: Don’t try and “feel” your way by foot anywhere in London – take a map, watch the street signs, ask for directions and question every move! A straightforward 10-minute walk to the club ended up taking us 22 minutes with 6 detours!
After a very drawn out sound check and no time to eat, we scurried to the stage to do our first set. The sound was amazingly good – transparent and warm and everything quite balanced. We had a few technical issues but managed to make it part of the act (which the audience thoroughly enjoyed).
One thing that stood out for me was the story of this jazz club: The Vortex is run as a not-for-profit organization. All surplus money is invested back into the club to improve facilities and keep the club as one of the best in the world. The staff volunteer their time and efforts. Here’s a link to the history of the Vortex Jazz Club: http://www.vortexjazz.co.uk/history-of-the-vortex.html
The vibe in this warm and hip listening room was amazing: a discerning audience (many of whom were musicians themselves) who truly cared about jazz and the brand of fusion we were bringing to them.
In the second set, we collaborated with Belgium beatboxing champion Roxorloops who kicked some butt in his own solo, then melded beautifully into our original song, So The Journey Goes with a call-response duet with Ed on tabla.. He is a vocal drumming force to reckon with, so do check out: http://www.myspace.com/the_original_roxorloops
This gig was very special on so many levels: the people who brought us (a huge shout out to the amazing Tobias Hug and Ulli Meinke who helped organize both gigs in London as well as other upcoming UK dates);  Tobi! Ulli! We LOVE you! Thanasis for his great photos, check them out at: http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/lomefoto/AutoRickShawVortexLondon2009# ; to Todd Wills, owner of the Vortex and the man who batted for us to get certificates of sponsorship supporting our entire UK portion of the tour; the volunteer staff who clearly have a love for art and the artists who make it; the musical sparks that fly when musicians collaborate for the first time, and again, the very discerning audience who helped us set and continually raise the bar at this show. It really was a personal and musical highlight.
Post-show mortem: We always strive to have some sort of seemingly authentic experience when we go to other countries, especially on our last night. I think we found it: one of the coolest bars in London if you want an intimate, underground experience with great music, a small dance floor, room to sprawl on a couple of couches and choice cocktails, simply called Jazz Bar, around the corner from the Vortex.
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