CORTEX Vinyl & CDs

Review: .No, this is not a surprise jazz-funk outing from Dan 'Caribou' Snaith, but rather a reissue of the sole single that French outfit Cortex released as Caribou, way back in 1977. Copies of that record are now very hard to come by, so it's great that Trad Vibe have delivered this fresh edition. It's worth picking up for 'Californie' alone. The track is a near perfect fusion of the Gallic ensemble's usual loose jazz-funk sound and energetic, sun-drenched disco - all breathless electric piano solos, memorable guitar licks, dancefloor-friendly grooves and spiralling group vocals. Original flipside 'Stevie', a more relaxed and loved-up affair closer in tone to Cortex's usual material, once again resides on the reverse.

Review: Cortex were a highly-regarded jazz fusion group from the 1970s led by Alain Mion and Alain Gandolfi. Trad Vibe has been diligently reissuing most of the project's seminal albums, and now they've gone one step further by unearthing some extra alternative takes and forgotten tracks which help complete the picture of this insanely talented group of players and composers. With the slick precision of session players they lay down groove after groove, with the tribute piece 'Stevie' being a particularly artful demonstration of their skill in fusing motifs from a whole host of Stevie Wonder classics.

Review: Arising phoenix-like from the flames of a film soundtrack originally thought to have been lost in a blaze, 'Psychose' and its partner in crime 'Oh! Lord' now come as the latest reissued musical tidbits from French jazz fusion masters Cortex. Though the name of the film for which they composed these two tittilating trinkets is unknown, the vibe of the picture is certainly inferable from the tracks' light restlessness and hard-to-pin-down contrast. Bright clavs, electric pianos and rough-edged drums whirl about both mixes in stereo-optimized fashion, sultrily portraying the headspace of a 70s street urchin with a chromatic relish for life.

Review: French jazz-fusion act Cortex's 1975 debut album Troupeau Bleu has long been in demand amongst record collectors and dusty-fingered DJs, not least because it's14 tracks contain all manner of killer drum breaks, fast-fingered electric piano solos, surprise 1970s synth sounds and nods aplenty to French lounge music. As this essential Trad Vibe issue proves, the album is every bit as good as you'd expect, with floor-friendly jazz-funk freak-outs sitting side by side with samba workouts, laidback jams of the kind associated with Bob James, piano jazz interludes, jazz-rock slam-downs and much more besides. Basically, it's the kind of freewheeling but impeccably produced set that deserves a place in any jazz-funk fan's record collection.