Even if you don’t know psychedelic French jazz-funk legends Cortex by name, you have probably know have probably heard elements of their 1975 album Troupeau Bleu. Tracks from it have been sampled by MF DOOM, J Dilla, Madlib, Tyler, The Creator, Rick Ross, Captain Murphy, Wiz Khalifa, Lupe Fiasco, Jeezy, Curren$y, and more. The current lineup of Cortex — led by founder Alain Mion and featuring Mohamed Ouaraz (bass), Loïc Soulat (a sax, keys), Victor Dubois (drums), and Claire Nouet (vocal, percussions, keys) — are heading to North America this summer for a tour around the Montreal Jazz Festival, with shows in NYC, LA, Toronto, DC, Denver and more. Dates are listed below.

The tour, which is presented by Jazz is Dead (Adrian Younge and A Tribe Called Quest‘s Ali Shaheed Muhammad), kicks off in NYC on June 27 though the venue is still TBA. (Maybe part of Blue Note Jazz Fest? SummerStage?) Stay tuned for details.

Cortex’s “Huit Octobre 1971” alone was sampled on MF DOOM / Madlib’s “One Beer,” Tyler, the Creator’s “Odd Toddlers,” Wiz Khalifa’s “Visions,” and Lil Yachty’s “Cortex,” among others.

Listen to Troupeau Bleu and songs that have sampled it below.

[embedded content]

[embedded content]

[embedded content]