The Squid's Ear Magazine

Cortex

Avant-Garde Party Music [VINYL]

Cortex: Avant-Garde Party Music [VINYL] (Clean Feed)

Cortex propels their persuasive, groove oriented approach to jazz with this swinging album that blends free jazz styles with great hard bop, in line with a band like The Thing, this Scandinavian group wants to make your body move without indulging in excess or pandering, instead following a muse that's solidly in the exuberant free jazz tradition.
 

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product information:

Personnel:



Thomas Johansson-trumpet

Kristoffer Alberts-saxophones

Ola Hoyer-double bass

Gard Nilssen-drums


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UPC: 5609063104417

Label: Clean Feed
Catalog ID: CF441LP
Squidco Product Code: 25356

Format: LP
Condition: New
Released: 2018
Country: Portugal
Packaging: LP
Recorded at Athletic Sound, in Halden, Norway, in January, 2017, by Dag Erik Johansen and Kai Andersen.

Descriptions, Reviews, &c.

"Cortex? No, this isn't jazz of the cerebral kind - even considering that the approach in "Avant-Garde Party Music" is very much the intelectual one coming from the bebop / hard bop era (when the music seated its users, inviting them to listen and not prioritarily to dance) and approaching our times through the free jazz evolutive line. Avant-garde the music certainly is, but you can still party with it, because this record grooves and swings like hell. Not in the conventional way, of course, but giving a chance to your temptation to shake the body. Having the transitional years going from bop to free as reference, it's natural that you find on these tracks the influence of what Ornette Coleman did with Don Cherry. But this isn't as simple as that: Cortex is a Scandinavian band and as such the music has a twist, the same you've found before in groups like The Thing, Atomic and The Core: a sort of hyper-realism, turning this jazz born in Europe even more "authentic" than the American original."-Clean Feed



"Cortex is a spirited combo that plays energetic jazz of the finest brand. With over one hundred live-performances and four albums, the quartet positions itself as one of the strongest additions to the Norwegian jazz scene. The members are amongst the most sought after young jazz performers in Norway today. They all have marked their position in several other constellations such as: Bushman's Revenge, Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit, Team Hegdal, SAKA, Zanussi 5, Friends & Neighbors, AKODE, Honest John, and The Heat Death.

Cortex has done extensive touring in Norway, Sweden, Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium, France, Italy, Slovenia, Portugal USA and Japan, and their records has been bestowed with praise from international critics."-Cortex Website

Also available on CD.

Artist Biographies

"Thomas is born and raised in Skien,Telemark. With a bachelor degree from the University of Stavanger, and Masters from The Norwegian Academy of Music, he is a part of the strong young Norweigan jazz elite. He has done extensive touring in Scandinavia, Europe, Japan and USA, with both his own projects and as a sideman in several other bands.

His main project is Cortex, which is a quartet consisting of Thomas, Kristoffer Alberts, Ola Høyer and Gard Nilssen. Cortex is a Norwegian band which plays enerergetic jazz of the finest brand. With over one hundred live perfomances and four highly acclaimed albums, they position themselves as one of the strongest additions to the Norwegian jazz scene.

Thomas is also active in several other projects, such as: All Included, Friends & Neighbors, Paal Nilssen-Love Large Unit, and Scheen Jazzorkester.

Thomas currently lives in Skien, working as a freelance trumpet player and composer. Thomas has in recent years toured and played at several festivals and clubs at home and abroad, with both his own and others projects. For projects and livedates, check the pages on the menu at the top of the page."

-Thomas Johansson Website (http://www.thomasjohansson.no/?page_id=22)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Kristoffer Alberts (b. 1982) has emerged in the Norwegian scene of improvised music with a fresh approach to the saxophone. One hears traces of Albert Ayler, Ab Baars and the likes of Frank Lowe but Alberts has let his influences shape the music so you feel them rather than hearing them loud and clear. His contribution to the scene is also seen with his own label. Alberts is active in groups like Cortex, collaborations with Lasse Marhaug, Maja Ratkje and Steve Noble, whom all are featured on recordings released by his own label as well as Clean Feed."

-Europe Jazz Network (www.europejazz.net/masician/alberts-kristoffer)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Ola Høyer like others of the erudite new generation of Norwegian musicians is equally at home in a wide variety of musics including classical, jazz and experimental rock, and brings this wealth of experience and acute musicality into a very fluid and rich improvisational style. He is increasingly in demand touring regularly in Japan and the USA with his group Cortex and many other collaborations."

-Cafe Oto (https://www.cafeoto.co.uk/artists/ola-hoyer/)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.

"Gard Nilssen (born 24 June 1983 in Skien, Norway) is a Norwegian Jazz musician (drums) and composer, and member of the bands Bushman's Revenge and Puma.

Nilssen was educated on the Jazz program at Trondheim Musikkonservatorium (2003). He was voted this year's young jazz musicians in 2006 with the group Puma. Otherwise Nilssen is very active in bands like Bushman´s Revenge, Lord Kelvin, and Heidi Skjerve Kvintett.

Nilssen was chosen to represent Norway in the artist development program Take Five, a music developer program promoted by the London-based concert promoter Serious."

-Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gard_Nilssen)
3/13/2024

Have a better biography or biography source? Please Contact Us so that we can update this biography.


Track Listing:



SIDE A



1. Grinder 5:49

2. Chaos 3:49

3. Waltz 5:58

4. (If You Where) Mac Davis 3:39

SIDE B



1. Disturbance 4:23

2. Obverse/Reverse 5:02

3. Perception 5:13

4. Off Course 3:54

Related Categories of Interest:



Vinyl Recordings
Clean Feed
Improvised Music
Jazz
Free Improvisation
European Improvisation, Composition and Experimental Forms
Quartet Recordings
Staff Picks & Recommended Items

Search for other titles on the label:
Clean Feed.


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The Squid's Ear Magazine

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