With a gig on Thursday night it’s the welcome return of club ‘irregular’ Duck Baker to the Vortex this week.

Baker, an American avant gardist known for his work with Eugene Chadbourne and John Zorn, will be playing with clarinettist Alex Ward, double bassist John Edwards and drummer Steve Noble the latter pair in Baker’s band the night Marlbank caught up with Baker a few years ago at the club. Guitarist Baker has an agreeably droll sense of humour when he chats to the audience, the quirkiness of a tune such as ‘The Odd Fellows’ March’ with a Han Bennink-like shape to it inviting and loose, Duck having some fun on his rewriting of Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ leaving out “mostly every seven notes” or demonstrating great control at low volume on his own ballad ‘Always.’ Sometimes Baker’s sound can resemble the approach of Jim Hall, but with more of an avant edge to it, and he is as likely to rip into an Ornette Coleman tune at the drop of a hat as muck around with Ludwig Van B. Remember if it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck it’s not this Duck – definitely a one-off. Tickets and more info here

Stephen Graham