What's so good about Pino Daniele?

Every once in a while the opportunity comes along for us to book an artist from overseas who, for one reason or another, hasn't been on our radar. This year, Pino Daniele was that artist.

When Pino's agent called to say he would be near Toronto, we chatted with several members of Toronto's Italian cultural community to find out a bit more about him. The response we got was so enthusiastic that we booked him right away. Pino Daniele personifies the international nature of music. Born in Naples, he grew up studying traditional Neapolitan guitar. Eventually he started listening to rock, blues and jazz, and his own style started to emerge. Over a 35-year musical career, he has performed with artists as diverse as Pat Metheny, Richie Havens, Wayne Shorter and Luciano Pavarotti.

Of course, these musicians won't call just anyone…and the development of a personal style requires a high level of mastery on one's instrument. Here's a little clip of Pino taking his guitar through the paces:

Pino's distinctive sound comes from his constant exploration of the music which surrounds him, but even the musical traditions of his home town in Naples come from many places. In a recent interview with local magazine Panoram Italia, he said: "Italy is the centre of the Mediterranean. Its culture has not only been affected over time and influenced by Arab as well as African and European music." He remains committed to his musical lineage; he even occasionally sings in a language called Parlesia - a slang created by Neapolitan street merchants which allowed them to communicate with each other, while keeping their customers in the dark. Here's a track which aptly demonstrates the mixture of traditions we can expect from a Pino Daniele concert - lyrics in Italian and English, with music heavily influenced by the blues:

In doing further research on Pino Daniele, I discovered (thanks to a delicious lunch at the Columbus Centre) that in Italy, Pino Daniele is not just another musician - his music is what's played throughout the country. You're likely to hear Pino Daniele on the radio, at the shopping mall, or wherever recorded music is played. His concerts at home feature audiences which number in the tens of thousands; he's also sold out concerts throughout the United States. We're so excited to have Pino on our stage - great writing, great playing, great singing:

Pino Daniele performs on the Toronto Star Mainstage on Monday, June 24 at 8 pm. Buy tickets now or, for complete information, visit the concert page. Read the complete interview with Pino Daniele in Panoram Italia here.