The Vortex Jazz Club in Dalston this week hosts two nights in the company of a singer and bandleader who can reasonably be described as 'cult' nowadays.
Darren Hayman was the vocalist in '90s band Hefner, who enjoyed a modicum of success having been championed on John Peel's radio shows for years. Hefner broke up in 2001 but Hayman's creative output knows no bounds and he's since recorded 10 albums in various guises, including the well-received Bugbears in July of last year.
Hayman has a particular handle on English culture — three of his albums comprised an Essex Trilogy (he's from Brentwood) and Bugbears took its influence from songs of the English Civil War period. You can listen to Impossibilities from that album below.
It could be argued that Hayman should see some kind of specialist to stem his remarkable flow of ideas. In January 2011 he recorded a song, video and online diary every single day of that month. This has led to his two-date 'occupation' of the Vortex this Thursday and Friday, during which he'll play a pair of sets comprising his January songs.
The Vortex has been at its current premises since 2005 and is one of the capital's most respected jazz venues. Its events are quite diverse, however — you'd be hard-pressed to peg Darren Hayman as jazz in any standard sense, though over the course of a 31-song month he crossed so many genres that jazz was inevitably one of them.
Thursday's set sees support from London-based singer Rozi Plain, while Scottish musician Johnny Lynch will support on Friday under his moniker The Pictish Trail.
Tickets are available for both nights, though not many, so get yourself over to the relevant Vortex page soon to avoid missing out.
Main image from Darren Hayman's bandcamp page.
