Bossa Per Due

by Nicholas GordonItalian arranger, producer, DJ, musician, and general purveyor of acid jazz and bossa for the Scema label and the Fez movement, Nicola Conte's Bossa Per Due full-length for the American Eighteenth Street Lounge (ESL) label takes a much needed step in revitalizing a stagnant stateside genre. A classically trained musician, Conte has worked on several notable projects including recordings by Paolo Achenza Trio, Fez Combo, Intensive Jazz Sextet, and Balanco, where his touch, ear, and stamp of approval have propelled these projects to underground acclaim. The record works through 12 tracks of developing cool, loungy atmosphere on a foundation of steady grooving rhythms evolving from cold bossa on the stellar title track, "Bossa Per Due," and "Jet Sounds," to acid-funk breaks on the sitar/tabla-complimented "Dossier Omega," to essential samba on "The In Samba," to swinging jazz on "Jazz Pour Dadine." Regardless of the style Conte takes on and turns out with his signature sound, he produces each sample, vocal, or beat in a way that creates a punchy and vital musical environment that never ceases to strut its suave sexiness. Released in the U.S. by ESL, most notable for the Thievery Corporation, this record is sure to become a genre classic!