corto.alto Talks Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2024, Debut Album And More

With his heady mix of intuitive improv, electronic production and bass-heavy dub, fast-emerging Scottish composer-producer and multi-instrumentalist corto.alto is a jazz musician for the digital age. He is performing at Cheltenham Jazz Festival on Monday 6th May 2024. Find out more:

You will be performing at Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2024 in the Arena on Monday 6th May 2024. Have you performed at the festival before or attended it as an audience member? 

My first ever, if not one of my first, performances on a stage was actually at Cheltenham Jazz Festival in 2010, I was playing with the Dumfries Youth Jazz Club after winning a youth jazz competition. I must have been 13 years old and it’s definitely one of those performances that stuck in my memory. It was such an eye-opening experience to have as a young musician, and definitely made me want to come back one day with my own project.

You released your debut album ‘Bad With Names’. How did you want to approach the making of the album? 

I made this album over probably 2 and a half years. I think it took so long as I really took my time in the pre-production of the record, trying to find the balance between live, improvised, reactive improvised music with the electronic elements of production. It ended up being quite a slow process with many moving parts, as not every track was the same in terms of process. Many of the tracks had hundreds of different iterations before we got to the final versions.

Where did you record it and who produced it?

– It was mostly recorded in my flat in Glasgow, with a few things such as string quartet being recorded in a local Glasgow studio. I produced the whole album, but in no way take full claim for it’s final form, I brought on over 20 different musicians 

Who is in your touring band and what do they play?

At Cheltenham Jazz Fest this year I’ll be bringing my full 7 piece band. We have Harry Weir on sax, Mateusz Sobieski on sax, James Mackay on guitar, Alex Wesson on keys, Luca Pisanu on bass & Graham Costello on drums.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc? 

I’m not great at keys but I love vintage Wurlitzer electric pianos, it’s sad to know I’ll probably never own one in my studio, they are crazy expensive nowadays.

What music do you enjoy listening to? Do you have any recommendations? 

I love so much music, too much to list. But two recommendations I can give are Jon Bap and Marquis Hill, I’ve been listening to a lot of their music recently.

What was the story/inspiration behind the track ‘Slope’? 

Not much of a story, I just wanted to write a dub-style jazz banger. The title is dedicated to being resilient and trying not to give up, when the top of the hill might just be round the corner. 

Was it a difficult album to write?

I write music all the time, so I have a massive folders of demos to go back into and work on, so in that sense it was relatively easy to write, but it was a lot more difficult to coordinate and produce.

Have you been working on any new material for a new EP or second album release? 

Lots and lots.

What is your earliest musical memory?

Finding my dad’s mate Ash’s guitar pick on the floor and being really intrigued as to what it was.

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage? 

Give people a good time, show off some great Scottish talent.

What makes corto.alto happy and what makes you unhappy? 

I think people connect with the friendship and brotherhood we all show on stage. Everyone in the band has known each other for years and I think that shows on stage. What makes me unhappy is probably mice, I have a few in my studio and I hate them.

Photo Credit: Sophie Jouvenaar

corto.alto will perform at Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2024 in the Arena on Monday 6th May 2024 at 6.30pm – 8.00pm (UK Time). 

Tickets are priced from £26.00 each and are onsale here: https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz/whats-on/2024/cortoalto