Music / contemporary jazz
Review: corto.alto/Moses Yoofee Trio, Lost Horizon
The last time corto.alto played Bristol it was to a packed out Jam Jar, this time they filled Lost Horizon. The warmth of the response here confirms Bristol-based Worm Disc’s decision to bring the Glaswegian collective into their roster: these are musical kindred to the city’s current wave of grooving jazz outfits.
Moses Yoofee Trio (pic: Tony Benjamin)
Part of the buzz about the gig, however, related to the enigmatic Moses Yoofee Trio, a big name act from Berlin already despite having very little on record as yet. This was their UK debut tour and I nearly missed their set due to their early start and my traffic issues. What I saw made me really wish I’d set out sooner: a rich free flowing of ideas between Moses Yoofee Vester’s keyboards, Roman Klobe’s bass and Noah Fürbringer on drums. Over brisk funkish grooves their collective improvisation had an easy confidence whether throwing themselves into a high-energy frenzy or riding a gentler evolutionary smoothness. At times their measured looping progressions recalled The Necks, or possibly a slowed down Waldo’s Gift.
corto.alto – Mateusz Sobieski (sax), Liam Shortall (trombone). (pic: Tony Benjamin)
You can never be entirely sure how many players corto.alto will be bringing on tour, reflecting the pool of Glasgow-based talent that main man Liam Shortall can call on. This seven piece line-up blasted into action from the get go, Liam’s trombone soaring over the big beaty opener, while later Harry Weir’s impassioned tenor sax fell into a crisp duet with Graham Costello’s snapping drums and Fergus McCreadie’s stabbing electric piano chords. That more spacious sound over a loping bass hook was an early hint of a definite dub reggae influence running through the set to the point where a sudden burst of melodica, Augustus Pablo style, would have hardly been surprising.
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corto.alto: Graham Costello (drums). (pic: Tony Benjamin)
That dub wise sensibility emphasised the crucial role the drummer played in the tightness and energy of the music. Graham Costello has to be one of the best in the country and he provided an essential mix of creative rhythmic ideas and absolute precision timing throughout. In those regards he is well matched by the keyboard playing – one memorable highlight was a fine interlude where McCreadie dueted with himself over those seething drums. The two players were soon whipping up a real storm that launched a rich sound wash from the whole band and a stinging sax solo from Mateusz Sobieski before the arrangement suddenly pulled back to a stripped down skeleton that wound down to an exhausted finish.
corto.alto. (pic: Tony Benjamin)
Fergus McCreadie is an astonishing jazz pianist with a great harmonic imagination and range and in past performances it has sometimes felt that he was perhaps taking things into more challenging jazz areas than the overall group sound was comfortable with – two good things don’t necessarily combine well every time. This time out, however, he seemed to have found a compromise that allowed his technical brilliance to shine within the corto.alto context, with moments of super fast piano balanced by acute rhythm playing. When he finally threw in a deliciously unhinged solo on the classic Not For Now finale it felt like all restraints were being thrown off, yet somehow the Zappa-like complexity of the band’s unison playing was the perfectly complementary rejoinder.
corto.alto (pic: Tony Benjamin)
It was a great set, good fun from start to finish, and there’s no doubt corto.alto can be assured of a very warm welcome whenever they pass by this way.
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