Renowned Italian spiritual jazz master, DJ, producer, guitarist, and bandleader Nicola Conte proudly presents his new album Umoja via London based label Far Out Recordings.
A joyous exultation across ten tracks, Umoja
taps into the abundant well of knowledge Conte has amassed over his
career as connoisseuring compiler and archivist of deep jazz, latin,
afrofuturist, bossa-nova and soul music from around the world.
Expressing unity, oneness and harmony in Swahili, Umoja coalesces universal feelings through the multifaceted global music Conte has spent his life studying and researching.
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 2009-2013 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 Dipierro, 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 recognises 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 direct 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 colour 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 will be released on the 7th July 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.
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