La Sorsa and Ollendorf: Live at The Vortex

Launching an EP at London’s Vortex Jazz Club is pretty cool and even on a hot evening Germana Stella La Sorsa and Tom Ollendorff produced the coolest duo jazz to launch their new release - ‘After Hours’.

Germana and Tom

Singer and storyteller Germana Stella La Sorsa and guitarist Tom Ollendorff present After Hours - a captivating jazz duo EP. The launch event at The Vortex Jazz Club in London’s trendy Dalston area was laid back and the perfect, intimate setting in which to hear some of the tracks alongside other tunes performed by this duo.

Released the morning after the Vortex gig, After Hours is the perfect interplay between La Sorsa’s mellifluous voice and Ollendorff’s expressive guitar. A collection of six original compositions and familiar songs, the arrangements allow the duo to complement each other throughout.

The pair began the launch event as they begin the EP itself, with a gentle arrangement of the classic Lennon and McCartney Because: sweet, with a real jazz approach that makes it the duo’s own. By the third tune, also from the EP, Procida, there was a clear sense of the Ollendorff-La Sorsa sound with this original composition.

While After Hours celebrates well-known composers and songwriters from a wide spectrum including tunes by Brazilian composer Pixinguinha as well as The Beatles, the original tracks complement those selections.

La Sorsa says: “After the release of my latest work Primary Colours, I felt the need to return to the origins of my voice, focusing even more on my instrument rather than on new original compositions. Tom and I had already worked as a duo on one of the songs composed for my frst album Vapour and I knew he would be the ideal partner to give vent to my artistic need of returning to the essential.Thinking about After Hours - and even before working on the music with Tom - I could hear a simple sound and I knew I wanted to create something completely different from my previous albums.”

Click here to hear Tom Ollendorff talking about his own album, Open House.

The perfect soundtrack for a hot summer's evening, After Hours works equally well when the rain starts to fall and a more melancholy tone sets in.