Nicola Conte

Who is Nicola Conte?

Nicola Conte is an Italian DJ, producer, guitarist, and bandleader, known initially for introducing an innovative style of acid jazz that incorporates bossa nova themes, melodies drawn from Italian film scores of the 1960s, easy listening themes, and ethnic Indian music. Recently, he has focused much more on latin jazz, in his albums Other Directions and Rituals, and many remixes he has done for contemporaries stretching across many closely related genres.

Conte, a classically trained musician, is an innovative jazz revivalist and part of what was termed "The Fez Collective", based in the Italian town of Bari, and the Idizioni-Ishatr/Schema Records, a record label known for promoting a distinctly Italian approach to acid jazz as well as jazz music as a whole.

Conte's first album was Jet Sounds of 2000. The single "Bossa per due" gained international recognition and was an underground hit. It was used within a short time for a prime-time commercial for Acura automobiles.