About Nicola Conte

Nicola Conte is a DJ and producer from Bari, Italy known for introducing an innovative style of acid jazz that incorporates bossa nova themes, melodies drawn from Italian film scores of the 1960's, easy listening themes, and ethnic Indian music. Conte, a classically-trained musician, is mastermind of a collective of acid jazz revivalists, "The Fez collective" (and originally a member of the group Fez Combo), based in the Italian town of Bari, and the Schema label, their record label for promoting their distinctly Italian approach to acid jazz. 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 almost immediately for a prime-time commercial for Acura automobiles. The album was licensed for American distribution by Thievery Corporation's Eighteenth Street Lounge (ESL) label in the summer of 2001 as Bossa Per Due, and was slightly reconfigured version of the Italian Jet Sounds album. This was followed by the Jet Sounds Revisited remix album in late 2002. Two years later, Blue Note's French subsidiary released Conte's next album Other Directions. Conte also produced albums by other artists such as Paolo Achenza Trio.