Robert Conti
| Robert Conti | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 21, 1945 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, financial executive, educator |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Labels | Discovery |
Robert Conti (born November 21, 1945) is a jazz guitarist from Philadelphia who moved between careers in music and finance.
Career
He performed for the first time when was fourteen with groups at venues in Philadelphia. After he graduated from high school, he spent the next four years touring the U.S. and Canada, and in 1966 he moved to Jacksonville, Florida. In 1970, he dropped out of the music business to work in the securities field.[1]
In 1976 he began playing jazz again and three years later was signed to Discovery Records. 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 and Nick Brignola as his sidemen. In mid-1988 he was offered a position under filmmaker Dino De Laurentiis in Beverly Hills, California. After recovering from a back injury in late 1988, he was offered a position as resident jazz guitarist at the Irvine Marriott, a job he 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 (0.38mm) for playing single note improvisation, however, he uses fingerstyle when performing chord melody.
Discography
- Latin Love Affair (Very Disco 1979)
- Solo Guitar (Trend, 1979)
- Robert Conti Jazz Quintet (Discovery, 1981)
- Lomelin, Orchestra of the Eighties With Gerald Wilson (Discovery, 1981)
- The Living Legends (contains tracks recorded by Robert Conti and tracks recorded by Joe Pass) (1982)
- Laura (Trend, 1984)
- You Are the Sunshine of My Life (1985)
- Comin' On Strong (Time Is, 1990)
- To the Brink! Featuring Rocco Barbato (Pinnacle, 2005)
With Gerald Wilson
- Lomelin (Discovery, 1981)