Nicola Conte

A brilliantly soulful set from Nicola Conte - a record that's got all the tight jazzy instrumentation we love in his other records, but one that's also got some wonderful vocal work as well! Singers are a perfectly-chosen batch of the best of the underground - and include Jose James, Marvin Parks, Bridgette Amofa, Melanie Charles, Tasha's World, and others - all of whom really help give the record a sense of variety and voice that goes way beyond any of Conte's other records! And the vocals are hardly a commercializing element, either - as the whole thing's got that full, rich, stone classic sound that we can always trust from Conte - a deeply jazzy approach that's rooted in older modal and spiritual jazz styles. Till Bronner plays guest trumpet on one track - and titles include "Shades Of Joy", "Ahmad's Blues", "Soul Revelation", "Baltimore Oriole", "Astral Rivers", "Uhuru", "Sunrise", "A Prayer For Yusef", and "Goddess Of The Sea".