Iconoclastic Scottish composer and multi-instrumentalist corto.alto will perform a heady mix of intuitive improvisation, electronic production, broken beat bounce, and bass-heavy dub.

Up first, Minneapolis’s own cool nel d will create drippy beats, wavy instrumental soundscapes, and mind-bending improvisation from his album “reel mu$ic.” Fans of Sam Gendel, Blake Mills, Kamasi Washington, and J Dilla will not be disappointed.

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Scottish composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Liam Shortall, aka corto.alto, has had an incredible couple of years. His debut album, Bad With Names, was shortlisted for the iconic Mercury Prize and won Best Album at the Scottish Jazz Awards. In 2025, he won Act Of The Year at the Jazz FM Awards, winning the popular vote over Nubya Garcia and Ezra Collective.

Now signed to Ninja Tune, Shortall has released the singles “DON’T LISTEN,” “VANDAL,” and “APRIL (feat. anaiis),” all of which continue to showcase his ear for the cross-pollination of styles. This is music on his terms: music that speaks to his time in the fertile Glasgow scene and to club culture, all forms of electronic music, classic hip-hop, soul, and funk.

Over the past 24 months, corto.alto has played more than 150 shows and festivals, including Glastonbury, We Out Here, Latitute, North Sea Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, Cross The Tracks, and a sold-out U.K. tour culminating in playing to 2000 people in his hometown at the legendary Barrowland Ballroom.

Championed by Gilles Peterson; Jamie Cullum; BBC 6 Music; KCRW; Jazzwise; and the editorial teams at Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp, corto.alto has built a dedicated fanbase across the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United States.

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“A great example of someone who’s managed to channel their myriad ideas, modern studio tech and good old fashioned musical talent into […] his ever-evolving post-jazz-fusion band.” – Jazzwise

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cool nel d is the beats/production alter ego of Nelson Devereaux. Devereaux is a Northeast Minneapolis–based multi-instrumentalist, touring musician, and session artist who has worked with artists including Bon Iver, Lizzo, Craig Finn, The Hold Steady, Mild High Club, This Is The Kit, Jungle, Paul Cherry, Layton Wu, and 9m88. In 2025, he was featured on Miley Cyrus’s Grammy-nominated record Something Beautiful, playing the saxophone solo on the single “More To Lose.” His latest release is reel mu$ic, which is out on Taiwanese supergroup Sunset Rollercoaster’s label, Sunset Music Co.