Cortex - 1975 - Troupeau Bleu

Cortex 

1975

Troupeau Bleu

01. La Rue

02. Automne (Colchiques)

03. L'Enfant Samba

04. Troupeau Bleu

05. Prelude A "Go Round"

06. Go Round

07. Chanson D'Un Jour D'Hiver

08. Mary Et Jeff

09. Huit Octobre 1971

10. Sabbat (1ère Partie)

11. Sabbat (2ème Partie)

12. Sabbat (3ème Partie)

13. Madbass

Alto Saxophone – Alain Labib

Bass – Jean Grevet

Drums, Vocals – Alain Gandolfi

Guitar – Jean Claude "Le Boeuf" D'Agostin

Percussion – Jo Pucheu

Photography By – Patrice de Lagausie

Piano, Vocals – Alain Mion

Vocals – Mireille Dalbray

Enregistré les 15 et 16 Juillet 1975 au Studio Damiens.

Troupeau Bleu is the debut album by the French jazz band Cortex. This album features very different instrumentations, most of the time very funky and uplifting, mixing all that with the sound of jazz and a huge number of influences, like bossa nova and samba (which is very clear on l'enfant samba). The instrumentation on here is absolutely amazing, drums, bass, keyboards, and everything else. Of course, what draws the most attention in here is Mireille's vocals, that feels like cold water on a cold day, if that even makes any sense. This whole record is just so playful that it turns into one of the best experiences with an album I ever had. The lyrics are so simple, but they turn into poetry by Mireille. Even in tracks with no lyrics, on the B side of this record, her vocals build such a great mood that it's impossible to not notice (most notably on huit octobre 1971). I think every single track is perfect and definetively worth listening

Where do I even begin? This album has been incredibly influential to not only the jazz genre but hip-hop as well with the album spawning multiple samplings in the hip-hop industry, most notably MF DOOM's "One Beer" an incredible song in its own right. But even if this album had no influence whatsoever it would still be one of the greatest albums of all time.

This album features funky tracks that have a grove to them that just makes you smile and want to dance such as the opener "La Rue" and "Automne - Colchiques" which feature technical brilliance from all band members. There are also more beautiful songs that are smooth and wonderful to listen to such as "Prelude a Go Round" and "Huit Octobre 1971".

Here you have expertly played drums, intricate and groovy baselines again played expertly, and a one-of-a-kind beautiful vocalist Mirielle Balbray at her peak performance. all parts are brought together to make what I would consider: peak music. There are many times that I listen to this album and think to myself, this is what music was meant to be.

This is what "standing the test of time" sounds like. An obscure French jazz-funk album catapulted it's way into classic status by making a good group of hip-hop producers go "damn, crazy this hasn't been sampled more" which made enough listeners go "damn, what is this from?"

Between effortless shifts from haunting to breezy (Chanson d'un jour d'hiver), kickback anthems (Prelude a "Go Round"), and of course almost being built to sample (October 8, 1971), Cortex in the mid-70s manage to reach both backwards and forwards while still sounding entirely in context. Dalbray's abstract vocals steal the show, but Mion's keys are the real driver, and Grevet is consistently laying down strong bass lines even when subtle, with Gandolfi holding down the anchor with just enough flair and Labib's sax showing up and showing off only when the song asks for it. Odds are this one is never gonna get old.