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Nicola Conte: Other Directions
ByConte's albums are usually released on Schema, but he has also put out one apiece on the European wings of Blue Note and Impulse. Both companies missed opportunities by not securing the albums for their US-based home labels. Other Directions, which was in 2004 simultaneously released on CD by European Blue Note and as a 2xLP by Schema, is among Conte's creme de la creme. In 2019, Schema have vinyl and CD editions available, each with exclusive tracks.
Other Directions is the most straight-ahead of all Conte's releases. He has written that it is his tribute to, among others, Horace Silver, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, Bill Evans and Yusef Lateef. It is performed by a mid-sized band assembled from A-list Italian jazz musicians. The arrangements are sumptuous and world-class soloists abound, including but not confined to alto saxophonists Rosario Giuliani and Gaetano Partipilo, tenor saxophonist Daniele Scannapieco, flautist Nicola Stilo, trumpeter Fabrizio Bosso and trombonist Gianluca Petrella. The roll call of vocalists who top and tail most tracks is equally high-end.
Twelve of the fourteen tunes are Conte originals. Some of these, such as the "So What"-ish title track, wear their historical inspirations on their sleeves. Coltrane's reading of "My Favourite Things" chimes on a couple of other tracks. The two non-originals are, as is typical with Conte, out of the left field. Both were originally included in the soundtracks of European art-house films. "All Gone," composed by British saxophonist John Dankworth with lyrics by playwright Harold Pinter, is from Joseph Losey's The Servant (1963). "Le Depart," by Krzysztof Komeda, is from Jerzy Skolimowski's The Departure (1966). Other cross-art references include Beat novelist Jack Kerouac, whose eponymous book inspired Conte's "Dharma Bums."
Track Listing
Sea And Sand; Wanin' Moon; Nefertiti; Impulso; A Time For Spring; Kind Of Sunshine; Aphrodite's Dream; Several Shades Of Dawn; The Dharma Bums; All Gone; Other Directions; The In Between; Le Depart; Charade; Danubian; Bohemian's Dilemma; Nefertiti (Alternative Version); Waltz Of The Sirens; Teardrop Painted Blues; Quiet Stars; Kind Of Sunshine (Extended Version); Wainin' Moon (Alternative Take).
Personnel
Nicola Conte
multi-instrumentalistGianluca Petrella
tromboneDaniele Scannapieco
saxophone, tenorFabrizio Bosso
trumpetRosario Giuliani
saxophone, altoTill Bronner
trumpetPietro Lussu
keyboardsPietro Ciancaglini
bassLorenzo Tucci
drumsNicola Stilo
flutePierpaolo Bisogno
percussionCristina Zavalloni
vocalsBembe Segue
vocalsLuciano Minetti
keyboardsLisa Bassenge
vocalsAlbum information
Title: Other Directions | Year Released: 2004 | Record Label: Schema Records
Comments
About Nicola Conte
Instrument: Multi-instrumentalist
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