NICOLA CONTE 黑胶唱片和CD

Review: Although he's probably most associated with the IRMA imprint, nu-jazz mainstay Nicola Conte has also enjoyed a long and prosperous relationship with Joe Davis' Brazilian-focused Far Out Recordings imprint. Umoja, the bandleader/producer/guitarist's latest solo album, naturally features some nods to samba-jazz and bossa-nova (the latter being a style he explored a lot in the 90s and noughties), but also nods aplenty to 70s independent spiritual and free-jazz', cosmic jazz, Afrobeat, jazz-funk and obscure private press soul releases. Laden with fine lead vocals, incredible musicianship and lusciously warming grooves, it's a retro-futurist set that just screams 'proper summer listening'. Don't sleep!

Review: African Spirits is the coming together of musician and producer Nicola Conte with his friend and colleague Gianluca Petrella, who is an ECM and Blue Note associate and internationally renowned talent who emerged from the Italian jazz scene. Their recent album found them exploring a wide range of music in our globalised world with nods to Detroit, disco, house, and jazz. Now Berlin-based New York don Fred P offers up two of his reinterpretations. They are of course long, deep, spiritual and moving in both physical and emotional ways.

Review: Nicola Conte is one of the central figures in the Schema story, and his nu jazz and broken beat partnership with Gianluca Petrella has yielded some golden music in recent years. Nigeria originally came out in 2018, and then last year popped up on the duo's People Need People LP, but now it's getting a proper remix treatment which sees Tall Black Guy twisting the track out as a heady disco house roller for sundown moments when you need a little jazzy flair in the proceedings. That version comes in vocal and instrumental versions, and then the mighty Andres steps up for one of his simmering groove escapades as he delivers an extended remix of 'African Spirits'.

Review: Something of an all-star affair here, as Sacred Rhythm main man Joaquin "Joe" Clausell sprinkles some of his remix magic over 'Inner Light', one of the standout cuts from Nicola Conte and Gianluca Petrella's 2021 album People Need People. Whereas the original was a richly percussive, dubbed-out future jazz-goes-dub house affair, Clausell's versions are warmer, looser, jazzier and deeper. Check first the A-side 'Cosmic Arts Version', where Rasahan Ahmad's poetic spoken word vocal rises above broken beats, layered jazz horns, warm bass, glistening guitar kicks and warming electric piano keys. The flipside 'Cosmic Arts Version' is, if anything, even better, delivering dubbed-out percussion, mazy trumpet solos and trippy effects aplenty. In a word: essential!