corto.alto
Improvisation collides with beats and blips in the next-generation jazz created by composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Liam Shortall, aka corto.alto.
With a 2024 Mercury Music Prize-nominated debut album, Bad With Names, under his belt, corto.alto is going from strength to strength.
corto.alto has been described as a traditional jazz head raised in the age of the internet, bringing a fresh perspective to a heady mix of intuitive improvisation, electronic production, broken beat bounce and bass-heavy dub.
It’s been an intense but rewarding few years for Shortall and his corto.alto project (the stage name a nod to his Irish-Spanish heritage, translating as ‘short.tall’ in Spanish).
His 2024 album, 30/108, saw him freely blend genre, tempo and instrumentation across 30 tracks, showcasing his flair for fast-thinking creativity, innovation and improvisation over a more rigid studio approach.
corto.alto’s blistering live shows see him turn band-leader, amongst his crew of hyper-talented musicians – all close friends and frequent collaborators – along with handling bass, synth, trombone and effects.
This is music that speaks not just to Shortall’s time spent studying music formally at the prestigious Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, or his time spent as part of the fertile Glasgow music scene; but equally to an eclectic mix of influences that draw as much on his affinity with club-culture and all its forms of electronic music, or to his love of classic hip-hop, soul and funk.
Need to know
For your visit
This event is held at the Queen Elizabeth Hall Southbank Centre
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is open from 90 minutes before events start until they finish. It’s closed at all other times.
Plan your visit
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is home to both our second-largest auditorium and the Purcell Room.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.