Peppino D’Agostino
Penumbra (independent, 2014)
On Penumbra, Italian guitarist Peppino D’Agostino presents a collection of solo guitar featuring a wide-range of musical influences and techniques.
Stylistically, D’Agostino crosses the boundaries between Baroque, classical, contemporary acoustic, jazz, various global music traditions, and minimalism. He’s known for pushing the capacity of the acoustic guitar by combining beautiful melodies and American fingerstyle techniques with open tunings, and percussive effects.
Half the pieces are originals by D’Agostino. “I dedicated ‘Penumbra’, the title track of the CD, to David Tanenbaum,” clarifies D’Agostino . “’Penumbra’ means between dark and light. Through David I learned about Baroque music and minimalism. So I was really trying to bring some of the Baroque and minimalist elements into the composition. I wrote it for him and he actually started performing it. So there’s an even stronger connection with the classical world.”
The album also features two pieces composed for D’Agostino by guitar maestro Sergio Assad, one of D’Agostino’s most admired guitarists.
D’Agostino describes how he got two original pieces from Assad: “We became good friends when he started teaching at the Conservatory in San Francisco. I really admire what he does as a composer, so one night when we were having dinner in North Beach, I asked him, ‘What’s your approach?’ And he said, ‘Well there’s different things that I do. One of them is, I use numbers, like the dodecaphonic approach. For instance, if you give me your name, each letter, p-e-p-p-i-n-o, is a note.’ And then, three weeks later, he came up with a tune based on my name which is very melodic and lyrical. On another night, David Tanenbaum, Sergio, and I went out and had some fun and three days later, Sergio said, ‘Hey I wrote another one for you.’ This one is more like a samba and it’s pretty fast. Later David was telling me, ‘Do you know how many classical guitarists constantly ask Sergio to write for them – and he just gave you two compositions – you’re really lucky.’ ”
Other composers featured in Penumbra include contemporary classical guitarists Roland Dyens and Maurizio Colonna. “I really admire Roland Dyens,” says D’Agostino. “He’s one of my favorite guitarists, because he mixes classical and jazz. He has this mind that can go both places. And every concert he starts with an improvisation. I always loved his piece ‘Valse des Anges’ (‘Angel’s Waltz’). It’s more of a jazz waltz – very melodic, but also jazzy.”
Italian guitar player Colonna contributed two pieces as well. D’Agostino gives details: “I met Maurizio years ago, and he’s interesting because he uses a classical technique, yet he has also recorded very complex arrangements of rock songs by Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, but the two pieces I recorded are his original compositions. One is very melodic, with a lot of the classical tremolo technique. The challenge is to do it on steel-string, which is not easy. The other piece, ‘Synchronized Movements’, is an almost minimalist piece, where phrases are rhythmic yet change only slightly.”
Giuseppe “Peppino” D’Agostino was born in 1956 in Messina, Sicily and moved to the United States about 25 years ago.
In 2010, D’Agostino co-founded with David Tanenbaum, The Pacific Guitar Ensemble, an eclectic group of six guitarists who play everything from nylon and steel-string guitars to electric basses and 17th century theorbos. At other occasions, he’s on stage with musicians such as Stef Burns, electric guitarist for Huey Lewis and the News and Italian rock star Vasco Rossi, drummer Jeff Campitelli; Paraguayan harpist and violinist Carlos Reyes; or keyboardist Frank Martin.
“There has been an evolution in my playing due to all the incredible musicians that I have met, and this new CD reflects that,” D’Agostino iluminates. “How can I not be influenced by such great players? I don’t even recognize how much, because it goes into your brain, and you can’t quantify that, but working with all these artists, and knowing what inspires them, has made a noticeable difference in my approach. I definitely feel that this record expresses all those various influences.”
Sergio Assad describes Penumbra this way: “The latest CD release by Peppino D’Agostino brings us a repertoire typically associated with nylon guitar players. The beautiful sound of Peppino’s steel strings makes us hear this repertoire with renewed interest. ‘Penumbra’ is a must for all kind of guitar lovers.”
Penumbra is an essential guitar album by one of the finest fingerstyle guitarists in the current scene.
Buy Penumbra
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
