Cortex at Iron Cow Cafe- Wednesday, September 12th

Aside from the musicians from the late 1990’s Sam Rivers crew, we’re not sure that anyone has appeared in three cm5 shows inside the interval of one year. Cortex bandleader Thomas Johansson and saxophonist Kristoffer Alberts are about to enter our record books under this category. Last October, Cortex captivated the attendees at Gallery At Avalon Island. Just two or so months back, Johansson and Alberts stood front and center of that thirteen-strong new music mob, Large Unit, submitting new language for, well, ostensibly a jazz orchestra. Cortex come back to the U.S. again and we suggest that you join us.

Cortex are part of the Scandinavian renaissance drawing on the ideals of early U.S. free-jazz forms, using the instrumentation of the classic Ornette Coleman Quartet – saxophone, trumpet, double bass and drums. Coleman-esque are their forms based around knotty but catchy post-bop head melodies followed by less idiomatic jazz improvising. There is also an element of now-canonized ESP-Disk impertinence, where dynamics shift vertically to include irregular, and non-blues based sonic clouds.

We’re placing this in a new venue for our concerts- Iron Cow Cafe in the Milk District. The environment and the music of Cortex should be a fine match. Iron Cow can feed you and sell you drinks, so we’re not suggesting that you arrive with those in-hand. Take part in the Timucua instant arts community created at each event by appearing willing – described by composer Anthony Braxton as the “friendly experiencer.” We’ll see you there.