Cortex is a

jazz funk Jazz-funk is a subgenre of jazz music characterized by a strong back beat, electrified sounds, and analog synthesizers. The integration of funk, soul, and R&B music and styles into jazz resulted in the creation of a genre that ranges from pur ...

band formed by band leader

Alain Mion Alain Mion (born January 14, 1947) is a French pianist, composer, arranger, jazz singer, who serves as leader of the band Cortex. Musical career Influenced by Bobby Timmons, Ray Charles and Les McCann, his style varies between jazz, soul jazz a ...

in 1974. Cortex is known for

polyrhythmic Polyrhythm () is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music (cross-rh ...

instrumentals and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

, bossa nova,

samba-jazz Samba-jazz or jazz samba is an instrumental subgenre of samba that emerged in the bossa nova ambit in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Brazil. The style consolidated the approach of Brazilian samba with American jazz, especially bebop and hard ...

, and

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

grooves Groove or Grooves may refer to: Music * Groove (music) * Groove (drumming) * The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s * The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station * Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station * ...

, mixed with atmospheric vocals, inspired by 1970s American funk and jazz. Cortex broke up in 1981, but reformed in 2009 with a rotating group of members.

Hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

samples of Cortex songs in tracks from artists including MF DOOM,

Madlib Otis Lee Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American record producer, DJ, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. Critically acclaimed for his eclectic, music sample, sample-heavy production style, he is rega ...

Tyler the Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has been cited as an influential figure in alternative hip-hop during the 2010s. Tyler beca ...

Flying Lotus Steven Ellison (born October 7, 1983), better known as Flying Lotus or sometimes FlyLo, is an American record producer, DJ, filmmaker, and rapper. He has released seven critically acclaimed albums: ''1983'' (2006), ''Los Angeles'' (2008), '' Co ...

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, record producer and Music education, music educator. Born and raised in Chicago, he gained mainstream recognition for his gue ...

, and

Suicideboys Suicideboys (stylized as $UICIDEBOY$) is an American hip hop duo from New Orleans, Louisiana. Formed in 2013 by cousins Scrim (stylized as $crim) and Ruby da Cherry, the duo initially rose to popularity on SoundCloud for their abrasive, self-pr ...

have brought newfound interest to the band starting in the early 2000s.

History

Cortex originally included

(pianist, singer, composer, arranger, leader), Alain Gandolfi (drummer, percussion, vocals), Mireille Dalbray (singer), Alain Labib (alto saxophone), and Jeff Huttner, quickly replaced by Jean Grevet (bass). The band members found each other when Alain Mion responded to a poster on a bulletin board at the Centre Américain in Paris, in which a guitarist and bassist stated that they were looking for musicians to play with. Cortex's album '' Troupeau Bleu'' was recorded in 2 days, July 15-16, 1975 at Studio Damiens, Boulogne-Billancourt (France). French singer Mireille Dalbray featured on almost all the tracks. Cortex reunited as Alain Mion & The New Cortex in 2009 and 2010, with the singer Adeline de Lépinay taking the role of Mireille Dalbray on vocals and Hidehiko Kan on drums for performances in Europe at

New Morning ''New Morning'' is the eleventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on October 21, 1970 by Columbia Records. Coming only four months after the controversial ''Self Portrait'', the more concise ''New Morning'' rec ...

, Monaco’s Note Bleue,

The Jazz Cafe The Jazz Cafe is a music venue in Camden Town, London. It opened in 1990 on the former premises of a branch of Barclays Bank and has had several owners throughout its history as a music venue. The venue holds 450 people across both floors. ...

, and

Gilles Peterson Gilles Jérôme Moehrle MBE (; born 28 September 1964), better known as Gilles Peterson (), is a broadcaster, DJ, record label and festival owner. He is renowned for his genre-defying approach to music with jazz at its core. From this base he ...

’s

Worldwide Winners The Worldwide Awards, formerly known as the Worldwide Winner Awards, are an annual awards celebration curated by radio DJ Gilles Peterson and currently hosted by Worldwide FM and BBC Radio 6 Music, Radio 6 which celebrates up-and-coming musicians o ...

Festival. In 2022, Cortex toured the U.S., performing at The Music Hall of Williamsburg in NYC, LODGE Room in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and the Desert Daze festival at the Lake Perris State Recreation Area in

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

, California. In June 2024, Cortex began a North America summer tour with band members Virginie Hombel (vocals), Loïc Soulat (keyboard and alto sax), Mohamed Ouaraz (bass), and Victor Dubois (drums), entitled "Jazz is Dead", with shows at

Damrosch Park Damrosch Park is a park at Amsterdam Avenue and West 62nd Street in Lincoln Square, Manhattan, New York City. The park, which includes the Guggenheim Bandshell, is on the south side of the Metropolitan Opera House and west of the David H. Ko ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

New York, NY New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

Howard Theatre The Howard Theatre is a historic theater, located at 620 T Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., has been a pillar of the community since its opening in 1910. This historic venue, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, show ...

in D.C.,

Revolution Hall Revolution Hall is a music venue in the Buckman neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. It is located within the former Washington High School, and was originally constructed as the school's auditorium. The auditorium was in use from the school's op ...

in Portland, OR, and the

Montreal International Jazz Festival The Festival international de Jazz de Montréal is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz festival. Every year it features roughly 3,000 ar ...

Discography

LPs

* '' Troupeau Bleu'' (also released as ''Mary & Jeff'') (Disques Espérance, Trad Vibe, 1975) * ''Vol. 2'' (Sonodisc, Trad Vibe, 1977) * ''Pourquoi'' (Crypto/RCA, Trad Vibe, 1978) * ''Inédit '79'' (includes all of ''I Heard A Sigh'' and additional material) (Underdog, 2006) * ''Rare and Lost Tapes'' (Trad Vibe, 2023)

Singles

* ''Les Oiseaux Morts / Back to Life'' (Disques Espérance, Trad Vibe, 1976)

Songs used in films

* ''I Heard A Sigh'', theme music for the film ''Drone Games'' (White Lion Films, France) * ''I Heard A Sigh'', music from the film ''Doppelganger'' (Next Film - TVN S A, Poland) * ''Chanson d'un Jour d'Hiver'', music from the film ''Little Trumpet'' (Little Trumpet Productions, USA) * ''L’Enfant Samba'', music for the series '' Good Girls'', (Universal TV, NBC, Netflix, USA)

References

Andrejgee. “Cortex: The Mysterious French Band behind Some of Rap’s Most Majestic Moments.” Cortex: The Mysterious French Band Behind Some of Rap’s Most Majestic Moments, Micro-Chop, 22 June 2020
microchop.substack.com/p/cortex-the-mysterious-french-band
Accessed 18 Nov. 2024.

External links

{{Portal, jazz
Cortex: The legendary jazz funk band of Alain Mion

Cortex
at

WhoSampled WhoSampled is a website and app database of information about sampled music or sample-based music, interpolations, cover songs and remixes. As of April 2025, the website features 1,155,375 songs and 355,929 artists in its catalog. History ...

French musical groups French rock music groups