Robert Conti (born November 21, 1945) is an American
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
guitarist and educator.
Conti was born in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and was an
autodidact
Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individu ...
, first performing locally at age fourteen and mentoring with
Pat Martino
Pat Martino (born Patrick Carmen Azzara; August 25, 1944 – November 1, 2021) was an American jazz guitarist and composer.
Biography
Martino was born Patrick Carmen Azzara in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, to father Carmen "Mickey" ...
. In 1966, after four years on the road touring North America, he settled in
Jacksonville
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the c ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...
. In 1970, he dropped out of the music business to work in the
securities
A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any fo ...
field. In 1976 he began playing jazz again, and 1979, he signed to the Los Angeles–based
Discovery Records
Discovery Records was a United States-based record company and label known for its recordings of jazz music.
Discovery was founded in 1948 by jazz fan and promoter Albert Marx. The record label eventually would record jazz notables such as Dizzy ...
label. Conti released ''Latin Love Affair'' and a Direct To Disc recording titled ''Solo Guitar'' as his debut efforts as a leader in 1979. In 1982 he left music again for the business world. In 1985 he managed to released another album, and in 1986 he headlined the Florida National Jazz Festival, with
Jimmy McGriff
James Harrell McGriff (April 3, 1936 – May 24, 2008) was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader.
Biography Early years and influences
Born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, United States, McGriff started playing pi ...
and
Nick Brignola
Nicholas Thomas "Nick" Brignola (July 17, 1936 – February 8, 2002) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist.
Biography
Brignola was born on July 17, 1936 in Troy, New York. He was born into a musical family in which his father played the tu ...
as his sidemen. In mid-1988 he was offered a position under filmmaker
Dino De Laurentiis
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian-American film producer. Along with Carlo Ponti, he was one of the producers who brought Italian cinema to the international scene at the end of World War II. H ...
in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. After a lengthy recovery from a back injury in late 1988, he was offered a position as resident jazz guitarist at the Irvine Marriott, a job he held until 1998.
Since starting his website in 2000, he has released 30 educational DVDs on jazz guitar, including pro chord melody and improvisation using his No Modes No Scales approach to teaching jazz guitar. In 2009, he released his own line of solid spruce thinline archtop jazz guitars.
Playing style
Robert Conti advocates the use of a very thin
plectrum
A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a separate tool in the player's hand. In harpsic ...
(0.38mm) for playing single note improvisation, however, he uses
fingerstyle
Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of guitar picking, playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with ...
when performing chord melody.
Discography
As leader
* ''Solo Guitar'' (
Trend
A fad or trend is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short period.
Fads are objects or behaviors that achieve short- ...
Discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discover ...
, 1981)
* ''Laura'' (Trend, 1985)
* ''The Living Legends'' (contains tracks recorded by Robert Conti and tracks recorded by
Joe Pass
Joe Pass (born Joseph Anthony Jacobi Passalaqua; January 13, 1929 – May 23, 1994) was an American jazz guitarist. Pass is well known for his work stemming from numerous collaborations with pianist Oscar Peterson and vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, an ...
) (Discovery, 1985)
* ''Comin' On Strong'' (Time Is, 1990)
* ''To the Brink! Featuring Rocco Barbato'' (
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainl ...
, 2007)
As sideman
*
Gerald Wilson
Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...
, ''
Lomelin
''Lomelin'' is an album by the Gerald Wilson Orchestra of the 80's recorded in 1981 and released on the Discovery Records, Discovery label.Official site
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...