Conti was born in Philadelphia and was an autodidact, first performing locally at age fourteen and mentoring with Pat Martino.
Conti released Latin Love Affair and a Direct To Disc recording titled Solo Guitar as his debut efforts as a leader in 1979.
In 1985 he managed to release another album, and in 1986 he headlined the Florida National Jazz Festival, with Jimmy McGriff and Nick Brignola as his sidemen.
After a lengthy recovery from a back injury in late 1988, he was offered a position as resident jazz guitarist at the Irvine Marriott, a job he held until 1998.
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.