Nicola Conte’s Viaggio: A Deep Dive into Italy’s Golden Age of Library Jazz (1970–79)

After his celebrated Viagem series, which shone a light on Brazil’s overlooked bossa nova and samba jazz recordings, international DJ, producer, and recording artist Nicola Conte returns with a new curatorial masterpiece—Viaggio. Released through Far Out Recordings, in collaboration with Blue Note and Schema Records, Viaggio is a 12-track odyssey through the golden era of Italian library music from 1970 to 1979, a period when imagination and experimentation flourished behind studio doors.

In the 1970s, Italy’s composers were crafting extraordinary music not for mass-market albums, but for film and television libraries. These recordings, meant to underscore emotion and narrative, allowed for unparalleled artistic freedom. Without commercial expectations, composers like Amedeo Tommasi, Alessandro Alessandroni, Max Rocci, and others explored the outer reaches of jazz, funk, and avant-garde sound. Pressed in small quantities and distributed only within the film and broadcast industries, much of this music remained hidden from the public for decades.

“This is a journey through a largely forgotten world,” Conte explains. “While major jazz recording opportunities were limited, small publishing labels—many founded by the musicians themselves—opened a space for experimentation and personal expression. What emerged was a sound that was both cinematic and deeply human.”

At the heart of Viaggio lies Amedeo Tommasi, a sophisticated pianist and one of Italy’s earliest adopters of Black American modal jazz. When traditional jazz recording opportunities waned, Tommasi pivoted toward soundtrack and library music, helping to define a distinct Italian aesthetic that married the lyricism of European jazz with the rhythmic pulse of global styles.

Alongside Tommasi are visionary contemporaries: Alessandro Alessandroni and his wife, vocalist Giulia De Mutiis (Kema); Stefano Torossi under his alias Farlocco; Belgian composer Joel Vandroogenbroeck; and many more. Together, they blended analog synthesizers, lush orchestration, and influences from Brazilian rhythms, jazz-funk, and Middle Eastern modes, crafting music that was at once exploratory and evocative.

Conte’s Viaggio reveals this forgotten chapter of sonic artistry—a time when the studio was a playground for creativity, and Italian jazz was both experimental and emotionally grounded. “You can hear the haunting melodies and sun-kissed atmospheres that capture the Italian spirit,” Conte says. “Some of these pieces could have been full-fledged artist albums, others were made for visual storytelling, but all of them share a sense of wonder.”

Tracklisting – Viaggio
Disc 1
Side 1

1. Amedeo Tommasi – Brasilia (The Sound)

2. Max Rocci & His Friends – Colorombo

3. Max Rocci & His Friends – Niagara Falls

4. Alessandroni E Il Suo Complesso – Via Mare

5. Joel Vandroogenbroeck – Electronic Jungle

6. Kema – Pescatori (Canto Femminile)

Side 2

1. Desert – Leaving

2. The Swingers – Depressione

3. Latrudi – Feeling

4. Narassa, Amedeo Tommasi Trio – Lalo

5. The Swingers feat. Marco Di Marco – Meditazione

6. The Swingers – Nostalgia

Through Viaggio, Nicola Conte invites listeners to rediscover the overlooked brilliance of Italy’s jazz and soundtrack pioneers—music that shaped the nation’s creative identity and continues to inspire new generations of artists. This is not nostalgia; it’s a rediscovery of timeless innovation.