'All you can really do as an artist is play the music that you love'
Thanks to trailblazing Scot corto.alto, jazz never sounded so cool. The 2024 Mercury Music Prize nominee is heading to the North East on a mission to mix things up
corto.alto — the enigmatic stage name of one of modern jazz music’s most colourful characters — is at pains to point out that he’s no self-styled flag bearer for a perennially misunderstood genre.
“I don’t consider myself any kind of arbiter for jazz,” he muses. “All you can really do as an artist is play the music that you love.
“For me that includes everything that I’ve been influenced by throughout my life and that’s many different types of music. Jazz is an important part of the puzzle but it’s only one piece.
“As a kid I was obsessed with hip hop and I love electronic dance music. I like jungle, drum and bass and UK garage. Then there’s ska and reggae. And I love classical music.
“All of that comes out in my music. I never go into the studio intending to write a jazz track as such. I just love writing music and I suppose that sometimes it just happens that way.
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“I don’t think you can ever approach songwriting by focusing on one direction. Do that and the music will suffer.”
It’s corto.alto’s willingness to mix and match within his genre-fluid songwriting that made this year’s Mercury Music Prize nomination a no-brainer.
One of the more illuminating picks in this year’s shortlist — ultimately won by English Teacher’s This Could Be Texas — the impressive Bad With Names is a record that perfectly brings to life its creator’s rich imagination and unique musicality.
But a critically acclaimed album represents the tip of the iceberg when it comes to 2024’s breakout year.
Take the frankly ludicrous decision to release 30 tracks in 30 days!
“The longest 30 days of my life,” admits corto.alto as he reflects on a self-imposed project that pushed the trombone player to his limits.
“But, in all seriousness, I enjoyed the challenge. I know artists who’ve put out a track a week for eight weeks but that didn’t quite work for me!
“I found myself with 30 finished tracks and they all carried equal weight in my eyes. Normally you’d select the standout tracks for release but I didn’t need to stick to any rules.
“I just decided to release a new track every day until I was out of music! The added bonus was that instead of my songs sitting on a hard drive — and I’m a bit of a hoarder — they all saw the light of day.”
Get set for some of those songs to sneak into corto.alto’s raucously unpredictable set at Newcastle’s Hoochie Coochie this month.
In what represents another prize capture for the city’s recognised home for music of black origin, a hotly anticipated November 13 show is part of a wildly popular run of UK headline shows.
“I’ve only been to Newcastle once before so I can’t wait to get back and remind myself what the city’s all about,” adds corto.alto.
“The live thing is interesting where this type of music is concerned. I think a lot of people limit themselves when it comes to producing records because they worry that they won’t be able to replicate certain sounds live.
“I’m the exact opposite. I add in all sorts of weird samples and sound effects and my attitude is that we’ll figure things out on the night.
“It keeps the whole live thing really fresh.
“Every corto.alto show is different. We don't have setlists. We don't do anything like that.
“We just go on stage and we know what we're going to play for the first and last tune but everything else is up in the air.
“I'm just really fortunate that I've got a good group of musicians around me who I'm lucky enough to call my best mates. So we just have fun on stage.
“And it turns out to be a big blend of jazz music, electronic music, hip hop and more. It's been a really fun tour so far.”
Raised in Dumfries, corto.alto truly hit his stride as a rising star of the modern jazz scene once he enrolled at the prestigious Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow.
It was there where the natural disruptor was able to cut loose as an experimental musician and immerse himself in a wide range of styles and genres.
“As a trombone player you’re never going to be the band leader,” he adds. “By default you end up playing different styles for different people but always as a side man.
“I never got the opportunity to play my own, original material live.
“But after I graduated I moved into a flat above a place called Nice N Sleazy on Sauchiehall Street.
“It’s one of the craziest bars right in the middle of Glasgow’s nightlife and I was able to stay up all night making loud music without anyone complaining.
“I ended up setting up a Facebook page as a means of releasing some of that music and it just spiralled from there.”
Making the Mercury Music Prize shortlist may well prove to be a gamechanger for corto.alto but the level-headed musician believes an upward career trajectory is down to a number of stars aligning simultaneously.
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“As a musician and an artist you rely on so many different factors,” he adds. “There’s social media, live shows, streaming, label support, press and PR. It all matters.
“It’s all very incremental. But of course everything’s gone up a notch since the Mercury Music Prize nomination.
“We’ve had the opportunity to tour the US, had some great conversations with new labels and played in front of 5,000 people at the We Out Here festival.
“That’s all since the nomination so we’re extremely grateful.”
Tickets for corto.alto at Hoochie Coochie on Wednesday, November 13, supported by acclaimed singer songwriter Daudi Matsiko, are available via the Hoochie Coochie website.