NICOLA CONTE WITH BAND – Italian Jazz Fusion Maestro at BITEFARTCAFE • STILL IN BELGRADE

Experience the magic of Nicola Conte and his band as they showcase his new album “Umoja” on September 29, 2023, at the BitefArtCAfe, as part of the Musicology sessions.

Nicola Conte, an Italian DJ, producer, guitarist, and bandleader, is celebrated for blending genres like acid jazz, bossa nova, Italian film scores, and traditional Indian music. With a classical background, he’s an innovative jazz revivalist and a key figure in “The Fez Collective” based in the Apulian city of Bari.

Having released music with Blue Note, Impulse!, and Schema Records, Nicola Conte’s relationship with Far Out began over a shared love of hard-edged bossa-nova and swinging samba-jazz. Between 2009 and 2013 Nicola Conte compiled five volumes of forgotten 60s Brazilian music for his Viagem series. He then released his critically acclaimed Natural album: a collaboration with vocalist Stefania Dippiero, featuring jazz standards alongside covers of lesser-known Brazilian gems.

The music of Umoja draws on the deep-dug 70’s independent spiritual and free jazz sounds, private-press soul records, and African and Afro-Caribbean rhythms in Conte’s collection. But he equally recognizes his debt to many of the decade’s more celebrated musical icons, such as North American cosmic jazz masters Lonnie Liston Smith and Gary Bartz, and Afrobeat originators Fela Kuti and Tony Allen.

Since founding the Bari-based bohemian cultural movement and club night Fez at the dawn of the nineties, Conte has proven to be a pillar of the contemporary, international soul-jazz scene. Composed alongside his long-time friend, guitarist Alberto Parmegiani, Conte brings together a dazzling host of guests from around the world, including award-winning British vocalist Zara Mcfarlane, acclaimed Finnish saxophonist Timo Lassy, french vibes player Simon Mullier, US vocalist Myles Sanko, rising South African drummer Fernando Damon, former Roy Hargrove bassist Ameen Saleem and Serbian flute sensation Milena Jancuric.

Proudly revivalist, Umoja was recorded directly to analog tape, with just two takes for each track. “Searching for an unadulterated, spontaneous, almost improvised feeling”, Nicola made sure that the few overdubs were also transferred to tape in order to retain the color and warmth of the analog sound. “Very little post-production or editing has been added, so what you hear is largely what happened in those magical live sessions”.

Umoja was released on the 30th of June via Far Out Recordings on double vinyl LP, CD, and digital. The vinyl release has been cut at 45rpm for, super-loud, high-definition sound. Source: https://nicolaconte.bandcamp.com/album/umoja