Listen to an exclusive premiere of the anthemic title track opener from ‘Not For Now’, the debut mini-album by the electrifying ensemble corto.alto, led by Glasgow trombonist, producer and composer, Liam Shortall. Shortall’s ensemble combines virtuoso musicianship with fresh jazz compositions informed by a lifelong passion for hip hop. A massive hit at We Out Here, on “Not For Now”, keys man Fergus McCreadie delivers an incredible solo before the brass section reprises the hook in powerful unison.
‘Not For Now’ follows an acclaimed series of DIY self-releases and videos, released over the course of a year from May 2019. The highlights were collated on the sold-out ‘Live at 435’ vinyl EP on Worm Discs and received support across Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio Scotland.In this short but productive space of time, corto.alto were awarded for Best Band and Album at the Scottish Jazz Awards 2020, and received a personal invitation by Gilles Peterson to perform at We Out Here 2021.
Originally conceived as a self-imposed challenge for Liam to release new music every three weeks for a year, corto.alto’s incredible success has postponed any plans to end the project. As Liam puts it, “so I called this E.P ‘Not for Now’, in reply to “Is That It?”, the last track from ‘Live at 435’, featuring a hero of mine, Soweto Kinch”. Lockdown gave Liam plenty of time “to better gauge a sense of perspective of where I fit as an artist in the world of music” and find the right balance between “over intellectualised” or “over commercialised” ‘jazz’.
Shortall is able to call on musicians of the highest calibre, from Glasgow and beyond, to give life to his compositions. Among them rising saxophonist Harry Weir (AKU!), pianist Fergus McCreadie and drummer Graham Costello of STRATA fame. Nubiyan Twist & Onipa co-founder, Tom Excell, not only contributes on percussion, but co-produces ‘Not For Now’ alongside Shortall, adding the midas touch that has undoubtedly contributed to Nubiyan Twist’s incredible success. “Not For Now” also features trumpeter James Copus (Jacob Collier, Gregory Porter, Basement Jaxx).
“I wrote (title track) “Not for Now” as a reminder to myself to focus on the things that should matter to me: friendship, brotherhood, love, family, joy. The same things that are easily forgotten in regular day to day life. Making this release really helped me re-calibrate my priorities moving forward. It’s also a celebration of the relationships and bonds we have with each other, more specifically the connection we have between ourselves and other musicians.”
Released Friday 26th November via Bristol’s increasingly prolific Worm Discs, The ‘Not For Now’ mini-album cements Shortall’s incredible talents as an artist, producer, composer and trombonist, and corto.alto’s powerful, synchronised and intuitive musicality. Listen to the exclusive premiere of title track “Not For Now” below. Order your copy here.