Nicola Conte continues on his journey from acid-jazz bohemian to spiritual-jazz sophisticate with this immaculately hip album, fronted on half of its tracks by London-based soul-jazz divas Zara McFarlane and Bridgette Amofah.
Conte began his trajectory with the acid-jazz template Jet Sounds (Schema, 2000), boosted it with Jet Sounds Revisited (Schema, 2002) and, after a brief post-hard-bop detour with Other Directions (Blue Note, 2004), began the spiritual-jazz ascent which has in 2023 reached its new, lofty apogee with Umoja. At all stages, Conte's role has been less that of an instrumentalist and more concerned with composing, arranging, selecting the musicians and producing the sessions.
There is a distinctive, singular thread running through Conte's twenty-three year recorded output. This is a result, in part, of his longtime residence in Bari, an off-the-beaten-track seaport on the heel of Italy's boot on the country's southern Adriatic coast, its location rendering it well placed to shrug off the passing fads and fashions of Rome and Milan. Conte first came to attention in Bari in the 1990s with his Fez Collective, a loose coalition of progressively minded jazz musicians, DJs and cultural activists clustered around the town's alternative club world. Fez was a sort of latter-day musical equivalent of a mid-twentieth century European literary salon.
Continuity has also been created by Conte's collaborator Tommy Cavalieri, at whose Sorriso Studio in Bari Conte's most characterful releases, from Jet Sounds to Umoja, have been recorded.
The new album kicks off with six tracks on which McFarlane and Amofah alternate as lead singers. Within their broadly humanistic paradigm, the lyrics address particular sociopolitical issues such as ethnic identity, and without resorting to prosaic agitprop. The singers are supported by an achingly funky core lineup comprising tenor saxophonist Timo Lassy, multi-keyboardist Pietro Lussu, guitarist Alberto Parmegiani, alternating bassists Ameen Salim, Marco Bardoscia and Luca Alemanno, percussionist Abdissa Assefa and drummer Teppo Mäkynen. Another eleven guest singers and instrumentalists weave in and out (see below for details).
The tracks featuring McFarlane and Amofah are the peaks of the album, for which an honourable mention goes to Lassy, whose sensuous, Pharoah Sanders-like vocalisations behind the singers are terrific. Assefa's percussion work is also noteworthy. And a shoutout, too, for the instrumental tracks "Heritage," featuring flautist Milena Jancuric, and "Arise (Instrumental)," the sans-vocals version of McFarlane's opening track, which features vibraphonist Simon Moullier.
Only on "Into The Light Of Love," featuring male vocalist Myles Sanko, and its album-closing instrumental version, does Conte take his eye, briefly, off the ball, giving us rather too much lurve and a busy but bland quiet-storm vibe. For the rest, Umoja contains some of Conte's most satisfying work to date.
By Chris May
June 7, 2023
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/umoja-nicola-conte-far-out-recordings
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Nicola Conte continúa su viaje de bohemio del acid-jazz a sofisticado del spiritual-jazz con este álbum inmaculadamente moderno, liderado en la mitad de sus temas por las divas londinenses del soul-jazz Zara McFarlane y Bridgette Amofah.
Conte inició su trayectoria con la plantilla de acid-jazz Jet Sounds (Schema, 2000), la impulsó con Jet Sounds Revisited (Schema, 2002) y, tras un breve desvío post-hard-bop con Other Directions (Blue Note, 2004), comenzó el ascenso espiritual-jazz que en 2023 ha alcanzado su nuevo y elevado apogeo con Umoja. En todas las etapas, el papel de Conte ha sido menos el de instrumentista y más el de compositor, arreglista, seleccionador de músicos y productor de las sesiones.
Hay un hilo distintivo y singular que recorre los veintitrés años de producción discográfica de Conte. Esto se debe, en parte, a su larga residencia en Bari, un puerto marítimo poco frecuentado, situado en el talón de la bota de Italia, en la costa adriática meridional del país, y cuya ubicación le permite mantenerse al margen de las modas pasajeras de Roma y Milán. Conte llamó la atención por primera vez en Bari en la década de 1990 con su Colectivo Fez, una coalición de músicos de jazz, DJ y activistas culturales de mentalidad progresista agrupados en torno al mundo de los clubes alternativos de la ciudad. Fez era una especie de equivalente musical de los salones literarios europeos de mediados del siglo XX.
La continuidad también ha sido creada por el colaborador de Conte, Tommy Cavalieri, en cuyo estudio Sorriso de Bari se han grabado los discos más característicos de Conte, desde Jet Sounds hasta Umoja.
El nuevo álbum comienza con seis temas en los que McFarlane y Amofah se alternan como cantantes principales. Dentro de su paradigma ampliamente humanista, las letras abordan cuestiones sociopolíticas concretas, como la identidad étnica, sin recurrir a un prosaico agitprop. Los cantantes cuentan con el apoyo de una formación principal de funky desgarrador: el saxofonista tenor Timo Lassy, el multiteclista Pietro Lussu, el guitarrista Alberto Parmegiani, los bajistas Ameen Salim, Marco Bardoscia y Luca Alemanno, el percusionista Abdissa Assefa y el batería Teppo Mäkynen. Otros once cantantes e instrumentistas invitados aparecen y desaparecen (para más detalles, véase más abajo).
Los temas protagonizados por McFarlane y Amofah son las cumbres del álbum, por las que merece una mención de honor Lassy, cuyas sensuales vocalizaciones, a lo Pharoah Sanders, detrás de los cantantes son estupendas. El trabajo de percusión de Assefa también es digno de mención. Y un aplauso también para los temas instrumentales "Heritage", con la flautista Milena Jancuric, y "Arise (Instrumental)", la versión sin voz del primer tema de McFarlane, que cuenta con el vibrafonista Simon Moullier.
Sólo en "Into The Light Of Love", en la que interviene el vocalista masculino Myles Sanko, y en su versión instrumental que cierra el álbum, Conte pierde de vista, brevemente, la pelota, regalándonos demasiado amor y una vibración de tormenta tranquila, ocupada pero sosa. Por lo demás, Umoja contiene algunos de los trabajos más satisfactorios de Conte hasta la fecha.
Por Chris May
7 de junio de 2023
https://www.allaboutjazz.com/umoja-nicola-conte-far-out-recordings
Tracks:
1 - Arise (feat. Zara McFarlane) 04:25
2 - Dance Of Love & Peace (Part 1) 03:57
3 - Life Forces 05:54
4 - Flying Circles 05:42
5 - Freedom & Progress (feat. Zara McFarlane) 08:12
6 - Soul Of The People 05:10
7 - Heritage 05:09
8 - Into The Light Of Love (feat. Myles Sanko) 04:13
9 - Umoja Unity 06:55
10 - Dance Of Love & Peace (Part 2) 02:56
11 - Arise (Instrumental) 04:25
12 - Into The Light Of Love (Instrumental) 04:14
Credits:
Zara Mcfarlane - Lead Vocals On Arise/life Forces/freedom & Progress
Bridgette Amofah - Lead Vocals On Dance Of Love & Peace/soul Of The People/flying Circles
Myles Sanko - Lead Vocals On Into The Light Of Love
Timo Lassy - Tenor Saxophone
Teppo Makynen - Drums
Pietro Lussu - Fender Rhodes , Wurlizter, Acoustic Piano
Alberto Parmegiani - Guitar
Abdissa Assefa - Congas & Percussions
Ameen Salim - Fender Bass & Double Bass On Freedom & Progress/Flying Circles/Umoja Unity
Marco Bardoscia - Electric Bass On Dance Of Love & Peace/Arise/Life Forces
Luca Alemanno - Fender Bass & Double Bass On Soul Of The People/Heritage/Into The Light Of Love
Simon Moullier - Vibraphone On Arise/Heritage
Dario Bassolino - Fender Rhodes Piano & Moog On Soul Of The People/Into The Light Of Love
Magnus Lindgren - Flute On Into The Light Of Love
Fernando Damon - Drums On Heritage
Milena Jancuric - Flute On Heritage
Pasquale Calo’ - Tenor Saxophone On Flying Circles
Hermon Mehari - Trumpet On Freedom & Progress
Paola Gladys - Vocals On Flying Circles/Freedom & Progress
Chantal Lewis - Vocals On Into The Light Of Love
Jaelee Small - Vocals On Into The Light Of Love
Overdubs:
Daniele Zazza in London
Milan Jancuric in Belgrade
Recorded In Bari At Sorriso Studio
Label: Far Out Recordings 2023
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