♫ Jazzapedia

Jackson Conti

Biography

Jackson Conti is a Brazilian jazz project and studio duo formed by American producer and multi‑instrumentalist Otis Jackson Jr. – better known as Madlib – and Brazilian drummer and composer Ivan “Mamão” Conti, famed for his work with the fusion trio Azymuth.[5][2] The name “Jackson Conti” is a composite of the collaborators’ surnames – Jackson (Madlib) and Conti (Ivan) – and is used as a project title rather than as a traditional band with a fixed, touring lineup.[5][7] Their work emerged from Madlib’s long‑standing fascination with Brazilian music and Ivan Conti’s central role in modern Brazilian jazz and samba‑fusion, bringing together Los Angeles’ experimental beat culture and Rio’s sophisticated rhythmic tradition.[3][2]

The duo’s primary statement is the 2008 album Sujinho, a set of originals and reinterpretations of Brazilian classics from the 1960s and 1970s released under the Jackson Conti name.[3][5] On Sujinho, Madlib’s crate‑digging, sample‑based approach and multi‑instrumental overdubs meet Conti’s live drumming and percussion, creating a hybrid sound that draws on bossa nova, Tropicália, samba‑jazz, and jazz‑funk while retaining Madlib’s characteristic loose, “broken” rhythmic feel.[3] Critics have described Sujinho both as a Madlib side project and as a genuine collaboration in which Conti’s physical, skittering percussion locks into Madlib’s off‑kilter beats, resulting in warm, free‑form instrumentals that sit comfortably alongside both Azymuth’s catalog and Madlib’s jazz‑oriented projects.[3][7] Although Jackson Conti has remained a relatively low‑output project, Sujinho is frequently cited as a cult classic that deepens cross‑cultural links between Brazilian jazz and hip‑hop‑rooted beat music.[2][3]

As a project, Jackson Conti’s legacy lies less in an extensive discography and more in its role as a bridge between scenes. For Madlib, it extends his continuum of jazz projects (such as Yesterday’s New Quintet) into explicitly Brazilian territory; for Ivan Conti, it represents a late‑career collaboration that connected him with younger audiences within global hip‑hop and electronic communities.[2][3][6] The album’s reinterpretations of Brazilian standards have been praised for their fidelity to the spirit of the originals while filtering them through contemporary production aesthetics, contributing to renewed international interest in classic Brazilian composers and in Conti’s primary group Azymuth.[2][3] In this sense, Jackson Conti stands as a small but influential node in the broader history of Brazilian jazz’s dialogue with global experimental music.

Note: Biographical details about Jackson Conti rely on documentation of the project and its two principals, Madlib (Otis Jackson Jr.) and Ivan Conti; Jackson Conti does not function as a traditional, independently documented band with its own long‑form biography.[5][7]

Fun Facts

  • The name “Jackson Conti” is not a person but a fusion of the surnames of Madlib (Otis Jackson Jr.) and Brazilian drummer Ivan Conti, used as the collaborative project title.[5][3]
  • Sujinho mixes original compositions with covers of classic 1960s–70s Brazilian songs, effectively functioning as Madlib’s personal tour through his Brazilian record collection with Ivan Conti as his live percussion counterpart.[3]
  • Some critics and reviewers have described Sujinho as “a Madlib album” released under yet another of his many alternate project names, while still acknowledging Ivan Conti’s steady, defining role on drums.[7][3]
  • On tracks like “Brasilian Sugar,” reviewers highlight how clearly Ivan Conti’s intricate drumming and the detailed production come through, noting that the record’s warm, immersive sound stands out even on modest playback systems.[7]

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

  • Classic Brazilian composers and performers of the 1960s–70s (e.g., Edu Lobo, Luiz Eça, Tropicália and bossa nova artists) - Jackson Conti’s repertoire on Sujinho draws heavily from mid‑1960s to early‑1970s Brazilian music, covering and reinterpreting tunes by key bossa nova and MPB composers, indicating that these artists and this era are central stylistic influences on the project. (Covers and reinterpretations on Sujinho, including versions of Edu Lobo’s “Upa Neguinho” and Luiz Eça’s “Barumba”.[3]) [Source material from circa mid‑1960s–early 1970s; revisited on Sujinho (2008).[3]]
  • American jazz and fusion traditions - Both Madlib’s broader output and Ivan Conti’s work with Azymuth are deeply informed by American jazz and fusion; this shared background underpins Jackson Conti’s improvisatory, jazz‑oriented approach within a Brazilian rhythmic framework. (Madlib’s jazz projects such as Yesterday’s New Quintet; Ivan Conti’s work with Azymuth blending jazz, funk, rock, and samba, which in turn shapes his playing on Sujinho.[2][3]) [Influences spanning 1950s–1970s jazz and fusion, active in both artists’ careers leading up to Sujinho (2008).[2][3]]

Key Collaborators

  • Madlib (Otis Jackson Jr.) - Co‑leader and principal producer/multi‑instrumentalist of the Jackson Conti project; the name combines his surname with Ivan Conti’s.[5][3] (Co‑credited on the album Sujinho (as Jackson Conti) and responsible for much of the arrangement, production and instrumentation.[3][5]) [Primary collaboration documented around the release of Sujinho in 2008.[3][5]]
  • Ivan “Mamão” Conti - Brazilian drummer and percussionist, best known from Azymuth; co‑leader and namesake of Jackson Conti, providing live drums and percussion that interact with Madlib’s production.[2][5] (Co‑credited on Sujinho (as Jackson Conti), supplying the characteristic skittering, off‑beat percussion that defines the album’s feel.[3][5]) [Collaboration documented around Sujinho (2008), within Conti’s broader career spanning the late 1960s–2020s.[2][6]]
  • Thalma de Freitas - Guest vocalist on Jackson Conti’s rendition of Edu Lobo’s “Upa Neguinho,” adding contemporary Brazilian vocal presence to the project. (Featured on “Upa Neguinho” on Sujinho.[3]) [Recording and release of Sujinho in 2008.[3]]

Artists Influenced

  • Contemporary DJs, beatmakers, and producers interested in Brazilian jazz (general scene attribution) - While specific artists are not individually documented as direct protégés of Jackson Conti, critical writing situates Sujinho within a broader exchange where DJs and beatmakers mine Azymuth and similar Brazilian jazz‑fusion work; Jackson Conti contributes to this cross‑pollination by presenting Brazilian repertoire through a modern beat‑music lens. (The album Sujinho is cited in discussions of Madlib’s side projects and of modern reinterpretations of Brazilian jazz, helping to keep this repertoire in circulation among producers, selectors and listeners in hip‑hop and electronic scenes.[2][3][7]) [Post‑2008, as Sujinho circulates in global jazz, hip‑hop and DJ communities.[2][3][7]]

Connection Network

Current Artist
Collaborators
Influenced
Mentors
Has Page
No Page

Discography

Albums

Title Release Date Type
Sujinho 2008-06-17 Album
Sujinho 2008-05-19 Album
Yesterdays Universe: Prepare For A New Yesterday (Volume 1) 2007-07-17 Album
Yesterdays Universe: Prepare For A New Yesterday (Volume 1) 2007-07-17 Album

Top Tracks

  1. Barumba (Sujinho)
  2. Praça Da Republica (Sujinho)
  3. Papaia (Sujinho)
  4. São Paulo Nights (Sujinho)
  5. Mamãoism (Sujinho)
  6. Brasilian Sugar (Sujinho)
  7. Upa Neguinho (Yesterdays Universe: Prepare For A New Yesterday (Volume 1))
  8. Plateau, Pt. 1 (Mr Bongo Presents: Brazilian Beats 7)
  9. Xibaba (Sujinho)
  10. Upa Neguinho (Sujinho)

Heard on WWOZ

Jackson Conti has been played 1 time on WWOZ 90.7 FM, New Orleans' jazz and heritage station.

DateTimeTitleShowSpotify
Dec 8, 202508:52Barumbafrom Yesterday's UniverseThe Morning Setw/ Stuart Hall