Blue Note/Schema/Far Out Recordings artist shares a new compilation of golden age Italian library music. Following his acclaimed five-part Viagem compilation series celebrating Brazil's forgotten bossa nova and samba jazz, Far Out, Blue Note and Schema recording artist and international DJ Nicola Conte turns his curatorial attention homeward with Viaggio, an extraordinary exploration of Italy's library music renaissance 1970-79. The 12-track compilation spotlights the remarkable creative explosion that occurred during the seventies: when some of the greatest yet most historically overlooked composers, including Amedeo Tommasi, Alessandro Alessandroni and Max Rocci, were composing and recording huge amounts of original music for film and television libraries. Unlike commercial releases designed for mass consumption, library music was created specifically to accompany images on screen. This meant creative freedom for composers who imagined scenarios, feelings and worlds to soundtrack. Pressed in limited quantities, these recordings were distributed only to internal circles of music supervisors, journalists, and television professionals -- making them virtually invisible to the general public for decades. At the heart of Viaggio stands Amedeo Tommasi, the sophisticated jazz pianist who emerged in 1960 backing international stars like Chet Baker, Bobby Jaspar, and Jacques Pelzer. Tommasi was among Italy's earliest artists to introduce Black US modal jazz influences, and when traditional recording opportunities dwindled, he pivoted to soundtrack and library music, helping define a distinctly Italian sound that bridged experimental jazz with the emerging possibilities afforded by developments in synthesizer and recording technologies. The compilation features rare gems from small label outputs, namely the Cenacolo and Rotary label catalogs. Tommasi's contemporaries include the great Alessandro Alessandroni and his vocalist wife Giulia De Mutiis (Kema), Stefano Torrosi (under the alias Farlocco -- meaning fake/phony), and Belgian composer Joël Vandroogenbroeck. The recordings capture the technological evolution of the era as beguiling synthesis often combines with global influences spanning Brazilian rhythms, jazz-funk explorations, and Middle Eastern scales.
| A1 | Amedeo Tommasi - Brasilia (The Sound) |
| A2 | Max Rocci & His Friends - Colorombo (Il Mondo Dei Giovani, Vol. 4) |
| A3 | Max Rocci & His Friends - Niagara Falls (Il Mondo Dei Giovani, Vol. 4) |
| A4 | Alessandro Alessandroni E Il Suo Complesso - Via Mare (L'Ora Del Cocktail) |
| A5 | Joel Vandroogenbroeck - Electronic Jungle (Images Of Flute In Nature) |
| A6 | Kema - Pescatori (Canto Femminile) (La Natura E L'Uomo) |
| B1 | Desert (4) - Leaving (Desert) |
| B2 | The Swingers (2) - Depressione (Jazz Video) |
| B3 | Latrudi - Feeling (Teleobiettivo) |
| B4 | Narassa, Amedeo Tommasi Trio - Lalo (Made In The USA) |
| B5 | The Swingers (2) - Meditazione (Il Mondo Dei Giovani, Vol. 1) |
| B6 | The Swingers (2) - Nostalgia (Il Mondo Dei Giovani, Vol. 3) |
