Interview 1/11 New!!!

CD Reviews:

Northern Seas (2010)**

     **Grammy Nominated!!!

Scheherazade (2008)

Bio (2/09)

Al Conti is a composer, arranger, producer and multi-instrumentalist who plays piano, acoustic guitar, violin, electronic keyboards and percussion. Conti has traveled widely and has lived in South America, Europe and the United States. As an actor, he has appeared on television shows including the daytime drama “As The World Turns,” in films, in numerous radio and television commercials, and on-stage in theatre productions in cities including New York City, Philadelphia, Tampa and Buenos Aires.  Born and raised in Argentina, Conti comes from a family of artists with notoriety in many fields.  Conti, who has composed music all his life, released his first album, Shadows, in 2006, Poeta, in 2007 and the critically acclaimed, award winning Scheherazade in 2008.

Al Conti’s childhood was full of artistic expression. His grandfather was a concert pianist, Al’s mother was a professional ballerina, and his father is an architect, published poet and university professor. Al’s family tree also includes the famous Argentinean writer Miguél Cané. Although Al’s family was living in Argentina, their heritage is Italian and German. Because of that diverse cultural background, Conti speaks English, Spanish and Italian. When Al was three years old, he announced to his parents that he wanted to be an actor. At a very young age Al began listening to his family’s vast collection of music. When he was four his family would play a game where they asked for a particular recording and Al would find the correct piece and put it on the stereo. At age six he began teaching himself how to play piano and guitar. Finally, when he was eight, his parents allowed him to begin acting lessons which led to his first stage roles in Argentina.

Al spent a year in Italy getting to know his mother’s relatives there, but permanently moved to the United States when he was 17 years old. When he was 20, he got an agent and began a professional acting career that he maintained through 2004. In Argentina and in the United States, Al had the opportunity to perform in numerous theatrical stage productions including plays such as “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead,” “Andre’s Mother,” “Poor Richard” and “Lonely Planet.”

“In addition to acting, music was always a major part of my life,” Conti explains. “Whether it’s someone else’s music or my own, I hear music in my head constantly. I began to get serious about composing in the early Nineties. A few years ago I had a near-death experience that was life-altering for me. It wasn’t long after that I switched careers to music fulltime and started recording.”

When asked about musicians who have inspired him, Al laughs and says, “I could go on all day. I have enjoyed music from all over the world in all different styles since I was a child. I never stop listening. I was very influenced by classical music when I was young and I have always enjoyed Chopin, Vivaldi and the softer Mozart pieces. I also grew up listening to tangos and Argentinean pop music. Early music that struck a chord in me would be acts like ABBA, The Carpenters, Barbra Streisand, Georgio Moroder and Nina Hagen. I like everything from French opera to film music. In fact, an amazing piece is the main theme from the horror film ‘Poltergeist’ by Jerry Goldsmith. Also impressive is Takeo Watanabe, a Japanese composer of music for children’s animated films. More recently I have admired music by Lorenna McKennitt, Yanni and Christopher Spheeris.”

In addition to his music career, Conti is committed to supporting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (leukemia.org), Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) and Until There’s a Cure (until.org) which combats the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Al joined Kevin Bacon, Jessica Alba and Shelley Morrison (“Will & Grace”) in lending his name to the Until There’s a Cure foundation to help raise awareness and funds for research. “If you have ever had a friend or family member fighting one of these diseases, then you know why it is so important for all of us to show our support.”

According to Conti, “Creating the album Scheherazade was an arduous experience. There is a lot of thought, planning and experimentation that goes into creating the arrangements. What keeps me going is the feeling that the eventual listeners are already right there beside me while I am recording. So I can only thank each and every listener for walking with me through this artistic adventure and encouraging me to create more.”