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12"
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WDSCS 011EP
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Not For Now is the debut mini-album by electrifying ensemble corto.alto, led by Glasgow trombonist, producer and composer, Liam Shortall. Shortall's ensemble combines virtuoso musicianship with fresh jazz compositions informed by a lifelong passion for hip hop. Not For Now follows an acclaimed series of DIY self-releases and videos, released over the course of a year from May 2019. 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. Originally conceived as a self-imposed challenge for Liam to release new music every three weeks for a year, corto.alto's incredible success has postponed any plans to end the project. As Liam puts it, "so I called this EP Not For Now, in reply to 'Is That It?', the last track from Live at 435, featuring a hero of mine, Soweto Kinch." Lockdown gave Liam plenty of time "to better gauge a sense of perspective of where I fit as an artist in the world of music" and find the right balance between "over intellectualized" or "over commercialized" 'jazz'. Shortall is able to call on musicians of the highest caliber, from Glasgow and beyond, to give life to his compositions. Among them rising saxophonist Harry Weir, pianist Fergus McCreadie and drummer Graham Costello of STRATA fame. Nubiyan Twist and Onipa co-founder, Tom Excell, not only contributes on percussion, but co-produces Not For Now alongside Shortall, adding the Midas touch that has undoubtedly contributed to Nubiyan Twist's incredible success. "I wrote Not For Now as a reminder to myself to focus on the things that should matter to me: friendship, brotherhood, love, family, joy. The same things that are easily forgotten in regular day to day life. Making this release really helped me re-calibrate my priorities moving forward. It's also a celebration of the relationships and bonds we have with each other, more specifically the connection we have between ourselves and other musicians."
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