Cortex – “Avant-Garde Party Music” (Clean Feed, 2017)

“Avant-Garde Party Music” is one of the newest “Clean Feed Records” release. The album was recorded by avant-garde jazz ensemble “Cortex”. All the musicians of “Cortex” are famous and talented experimental jazz masters – that’s Thomas Johansson (trumpet), Kristoffer Alberts (saxophones), Ola Høyer (double bass) and Gard Nilssen (drums). This quartet members are improvising together for a long time now. They already had released many albums which have evocative and extraordinary sound. Music of “Cortex” is very energetic, evocative, full of various musical experiments, special sound effects, different musical expressions which all are mixed together. The ensemble members improvise absolutely different from each other, but their improvisations gently fit in one musical pattern. Their music is always interesting and very dynamic – they masterfully put together different music elements which are strongly contrasting with each other. This album release is not the first one released by “Clean Feed Records” – several years ago this record company released an outstanding “Cortex” album “Live”.

The album music has extraordinary and interesting sound. The collective avant-garde jazz improvisations are the main center of the compositions. Evocative, energetic, lively and dynamic solos are full of many different musical elements. Glamorous riffs, arpeggios, loud and powerful blow outs, constantly changing rhythmic, sharp harmony turn the most part of compositions very energetic and outstanding sound. The musicians try out many extended and innovative playing techniques which help them to explore and create unusual and extraordinary sound of the compositions. Fast, lous and very active collective improvisations are strongly contrasting with absolutely different part of these compositions. “Perception”, “Obverse/Reverse” and some other compositions are based on soft and quiet sound, musical experiments, avant-garde and traditional jazz styles, blues synthesis. These improvisations have consonance harmony, soft, calm and quiet sound and memorable melodies with blues elements in it. The musicians improvising is very interesting and innovative, with all different musical elements essentially mixed together. The melodic basement of the compositions is put against rhythmical basement. The most part of melodies have memorable, expressive and marvelous sound with wide range of different musical expressions in it. The rhythmic is contrasting with melodies – it contains of energetic drum rolls, different kinds of beats and rhythmic formulas, active, expressive and loud playing. The synthesis of different musical elements, expressive and outstanding improvising and many other elements make an essential and innovative sound of this album compositions.