corto.alto mix jazz and hip hop vibes through a Latin and sound system culture filter – they were a highlight of We Out Here festival, having been hand-picked by Gilles Peterson to play.
Their debut mini-album is called Not For Now – the crew is led by Glasgow trombonist, producer and composer Liam Shortall. The mini-album follows a string of DIY self releases and videos since May 2019, a collection of music collected as a sold-out vinyl EP on Worm Discs.
corto-alto were awarded Best Band and Best Album for that at the Scottish Jazz Awards 2020.
Below, we premiere Mayday, taken from the vinyl EP which is pre-orderable now on Bandcamp. The track combines humour with a sinister groove, amplified by Gyan Panesar’s ‘demonic’ bass clarinet.
According to Shortall, the song exemplifies his ethos for the project that nothing should “ever be taken too seriously. We are all going to die, and most things are pointless”.
Upcoming tour dates for corto.alto:
Nov 13th – Glasgow @ Great Western Festival
Nov 27th – Newton Stewart @The Vault Arts Centre
Nov 29th – Edinburgh @Voodoo Rooms
Dec 3rd – Dundee @Church
Dec 5th – Leeds @Hi-Fi Club
Dec 7th – Falmouth @Cornish Bank
Dec 8th – Birmingham @The Hare & Hound
Dec 9th – Manchester @Ramona
Dec 10th – Huddersfield @Palm Springs
Dec 11th – Bristol @The Jam Jar
Dec 12th – Newcastle @The Cluny
