corto.alto @ The Hub, Edinburgh, 18 Aug

Outside The Hub close to the top of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, the night's longer queue might be to get into the Royal Military Tattoo, but the more discerning punters are heading in for something much more intriguing.

corto.alto is the pan-genre musical project of Liam Shortall (trombone, bass guitar, effects), backed tonight by four fellow musical travellers, including Graham Costello on drums and Fergus McCreadie on keys.

Tonight’s show catches the group five songs into the rollout of soon-to-arrive third record SOME SMALL FORTUNE. Tracks released so far have featured everyone from Fife folkie Jacob Alon to Chicago rapper Mick Jenkins, building on the winning formula of fluid live instrumentation and electronic production which saw 2023's Bad With Names earn a Mercury Prize nomination.

That album built Shortall a reputation as a bandleader who was both creative and exploratory – dare one say it, a jazz muso for people who don’t typically seek out the genre. Tonight, that spirit is never more obvious than on Latency, the rippling bass-led composition that anchored that album. 

This evening, in the wood-panelled surrounds of The Hub with beanbags on the floor, is a long way from your typical jazz club and that’s all the better for Shortall’s idiosyncratic compositions to sprawl. At times the talented band play with the spirited funkiness of a Herbie Hancock ensemble, bursting into startling flights of instrumental brilliance. For all this technical mastery, it never feels like it is about virtuosity for its own shape, with Shortall spending an equal amount of time teasing and tweaking electronic effects. What, for example, does the seasoned jazz critic next to us make of the piped-in samples of Kendrick Lamar, Ice Spice and Justin Bieber reduced to ghosts in Shortall’s machine?

Over the course of an hour and a quarter, the quintet build to startling crescendos, looping trombone and sax riffs into unexpectedly danceable refrains while each taking moments in the spotlight to show off their skills. The final piece of the night serves as a showcase for Costello, whose fluidity and control behind his kit must mark him as a candidate for Scotland’s most creative and exciting percussionist. It’s great to see a contemporary Scottish musical project, producing genuinely forward-thinking music, paired with a stunning venue.

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corto.alto performed at The Hub as part of the 2026 Edinburgh International Festival
SOME SMALL FORTUNE is released 4 Sep via Ninja Tune