corto.alto (Worm Discs)

corto.alto is the brain-child of award winning multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and visual artist Liam Shortall. Liam has worked as a trombonist, guitarist & music producer in Glasgow from the age of 16. He currently works with numerous award winning musical groups and projects in Scotland such as Graham Costello's STRATA, Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, Tom McGuire & The Brassholes, AKU! & Fat-Suit. Liam’s maiden project, corto.alto brings together cross-genre musicians from across the world to explore new and original sounds in the world of jazz and beyond.

corto.alto really broke through after summer 2019 when they started releasing new music every three weeks and it really took off during the first lockdown in spring/summer 2020 with the "live" sessions beamed from the comfort of Flat 435 in Glasgow. The 435 sessions finished in June 2020 with "Is That It?", a collaboration with British jazz icon Soweto Kinch who is a personal inspiration for Liam. The highlights were collated on a sold-out vinyl EP on the much acclaimed Bristol label 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.

After an amazing We Out Here performance, the band announced their forthcoming releases for autumn 2021. Firstly, a lead single "Brotherhood" from their forthcoming winter mini-album "Not for Now". A new song featuring the spoken word talents of Franz Von, MC and frontman for K.O.G & The Zongo Brigade and TC & The Groove Family. Band leader Liam Shortall wrote the song after a Mungo’s Hi-Fi and Eva Lazarus gig, inspired to combine the energy of sound system culture with Latin jazz. Shortall is able to call on musicians of the highest caliber, from Glasgow and beyond, to give life to his compositions. Among them were/are rising star saxophonist Harry Weir (Rebecca Vasmant, AKU!), trumpeter James Copus (Jacob Collier, Dizzee Rascal), Mercury Award nominee pianist Fergus McReadie and drummer Graham Costello (STRATA). Nubiyan Twist and ONIPA co-founder/co-leader Tom Excell co-produced "Not For Now" alongside Shortall.

The band's last Leeds show was in early December 2021 when they launched "Not For Now" at Hifi Club for a Sunday Joint session. A packed crowd experienced the full impact of corto.alto's alt-jazz music live resulting in some mosh-pit jazz madness which had to be seen to be believed! Now they're back in Leeds almost a year later with some new music but the same amazing live energy. If you love vibrant contemporary jazz fusion with rock energy and hip-hop/dub beats, you need to be here.

Support comes from Elusive Dip, a 5-piece electronic jazz fusion ensemble based in Leeds led by drummer Haydn Morrow and featuring heavy hitting grooves and an unforgettable chaotic energy. They are made up of saxophonist Gustavo Andrade, guitarist Conor Thomas, bassist Fergus Leach, keys player Ruben Maric and drummer/bandleader Haydn Morrow. Combining jazz, electronica and hip-hop, you can hear influences from contemporaries such as BADBADNOTGOOD, Moses Boyd, Nubya Garcia, The Comet Is Coming and Athletic Progression in their music. Since the formation of the band in 2020, Elusive Dip have supported bands such as Pyjaen and Run Logan Run (Worm Discs), as well as played live in Leeds at Hifi Club Sunday Joint, Wharf Chambers and Hyde Park Book Club. In May 2022, they released their debut single "Lotta Grooves" and have more new music in the pipeline coming soon.