Nicola Conte Jazz Combo
(ITA)
acid jazz, bossa nova, lounge with cinematic influence
The Italian guitarist/producer/DJ is known as an acid jazz revivalist. Sophisticated and supremely cool, his music has strong influence from bossa nova, the 60’s Italian film soundtracks and easy
listening, some times also from Indian music.
Classically trained Nicola Conte is a mastermind of the Fez Collective that runs the Schema label in the Italian town of Bari to promote their distinctly Italian take on acid jazz.
Conte’s debut album, Jet Sounds, came out in 2000. It’s single Bossa Per Due became a club hit and a soundtrack to a car commercial. The American Thievery Corporation
released the album on their 18th Street Lounge label in the US. Two years later the French Blue Note released his second album, Other Directions. Conte’s new third album, Rituals,
uses a large band, and has saxophonist Greg Osby and the Finnish Five Corners Quintet’s drummer Teppo Mäkynen playing on it. Imagine a hybrid of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Nino Rota and you have a
pretty good idea about the lush and spacious summery swing of the record.