VA - The Modern Soul of Nicola Conte (2CD) 2009

With just one year after releasing the internationally successful Rituals album, Italian jazz-head Nicola Conte returns with a double-cd entitled The Modern Sound Of Nicola Conte – Versions In Jazz Dub. This new release compiles a series of re-worked, remixed, and fully new arranged tracks that he has produced in the last few years. From Italy to Brasil, Latin America, the USA, Japan and back to Scandinavia and Germany, The Modern Sound Of Nicola Conte – Versions In Jazz Dub takes us on a journey into the most tasteful sounds you can get when it comes to Bossa flavored Jazz, Latin excursions and soulful grooves. To complement the masterful takes on other musicians’ recordings, 8 of the 26 tracks on this impressive collection are Nicola’s own. Some have never before released before, and stem from the sessions to his sought after albums, Other Directions and Rituals. Working with some of the world’s finest musicians, Nicola’s The Modern Sound Of Nicola Conte – Versions In Jazz Dub, features household names such as Mark Murphy, Till Brönner, and The Five Corner Quintet, who like Nicola Conte, are dedicated to preserve the spirit of the best in 1950’s and 1960’s jazz, while percussionists Roberto Roena and Luisito Quintero represent two generations of Latin rhythm fever. The music of The Bobby Hughes Combination and American group Thunderball (from Thievery Corporation’s ESL Records) both comes from a more eclectic and electronic background, but Nicola turns their respective tracks into elegant Jazz takes nevertheless. This he does also with Japanese guests such as Akiko, Maki Mannami and the Sunaga T Experience. On Nicola’s reworkings of the various tracks and on his own takes, you hear him alongside his fabulous sessions musicians like Pietro Ciancaglini, Daniele Scannapieco, Lorenzo Tucci, Pietro Lussu, Gaetano Partipilo, Rosario Giuliani and Sandro Deida, Fabrizio Bosso, Flavio Boltro, and the Finn Teppo Mäkynen and Timo Lassy. On vocals you hear the talents of Lisa Bassenge, Maki Mannami, Kim Sanders, Alice Ricciardi, José James and Philipp Weiss. Nicola Conte is not only one of today’s most elegant Jazz producers but also a perfectionist in sound. Listening to the 26 tracks of The Modern Sound Of Nicola Conte – Versions in Jazz Dub you will learn to love the extraordinary sound and music qualities provided. While many artists will remix music simply by using software tools and letting the computer do the work, Nicola Conte’s method of re-recording live takes with his own musicians make his Versions In Jazz Dub a most enjoyable pleasure and a welcome addition to his artistic catalogue