Cortex

It would be a pretty good idea to be in Lexington, KY on Monday night.  Cortex is gonna be in town for a September 17th show at the Jacob Niles Gallery on the University of Kentucky campus.  The Skien, Norway-based quartet straddles the distance between old-school and new-school sounds.  They are more likely to stomp and roar rather than bop and swing, but in the tradition of 1960’s inside-out jazz, strong transmissions of the blues come through loud and clear… before disappearing again into the chaos of free improvisation.  What it all boils down to is that there will be some warmly familiar sounds to tap your foot along to accompany all of the thrilling wildness of the moment.

This is outstanding stuff, and it’s a great opportunity to catch some tunes that don’t normally float through Kentucky.

The quartet is comprised of trumpeter Thomas Johansson, saxophonist Kristoffer Berre Alberts, bassist Ola Høyer and drummer Gard Nilssen.  Their latest release Avant-garde Party Music (on Clean Feed Records) doubles as a succinct description of that mix of old and new music I mention above.  Here’s a track from the album, which you can buy on Amazon.

This is the 15-year anniversary, and Event #204, of Ross Compton’s Outside the Spotlight series.  Ross is one of those local music scene heroes who devotes a ton of sweatwork bringing great music to his community.  There have been a ridiculous wealth of talent from the experimental and jazz pools that has performed in Lexington because of Ross’s efforts.  And most of those shows, like this one, is free to the public.  Also, a shout-out to WRFL 88.1 FM for their support.

It happens tomorrow, Monday, September 17th.  Show starts at 7:30pm.

Where it’s at:  Jacob Niles Gallery on the UK campus, 160 Patterson Dr, Lexington, KY 40508.

Ticket cost:  Free!  Bring money to buy CDs!

Here’s a video of a live performance of the album’s opening track…