| Pino Daniele |
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Daniele's talent was confirmed on his next album, Pino Daniele (1979). He scored his greatest success in 1980, with Nero a metà (Half-Black Skinned), which was noted by some authorities as the hallmark of the rebirth of Neapolitan song. In that year Daniele was invited as opening guest singer at the Bob Marley concert in San Siro Stadium in Milan. In 1981, Vai Mo was released; the presence of most renowned Neapolitan musicians as session men in this album has also been widely praised and he has been awarded Best Italian tour of the year and Best Artist - followed by a great concert in Naples with 200,000 people and broadcast by most Italians TV channels. In 1982 Daniele gradually shifted to a personal and early version of world music: in Bella 'mbriana musicians such as Alphonso Johnson and Wayne Shorter appeared as guest players. In the following year Daniele held a concert in Havana, and later formed a Latin-American band featuring Juan Pablo Torres, Adalberto Lara and Nanà Vasconcelos. Daniele's skills in creating well-balanced blends of Mediterranean, Blues, rock, music, salsa and Neapolitan melodies are well shown in his first live work recorded on his tour in Europe, Live Sciò, of 1984. That same year, Mel Collins, a member of King Crimson Group, played on Daniele's album Musicante, inviting very talented musicians like Gato Barbieri; Steve Gadd; Mino Cinelu and Richard Tee for the European tour. Later, Daniele collaborated with the American singer/guitarist Richie Heavens on Common Ground, an album written and played together. His interest in Arabic music is emphasized on Bonne Soirée (1987), while the subsequent Schizzechea With Love (1988) was more Mediterranean-oriented. In the same year he started a collaboration with the Italian actor and director Massimo Troisi: Daniele completed the soundtracks for all of his films. 1988 saw Daniele on tour with: Randy California, Pete Haycock, Steve Hunter, Robby Krieger, Andy Powell, Ted Turner, Leslie West, Phil Manzanera, Jan Akkerman. Mascalzone Latino (1989), a success confirmed by the following albums Un Uomo In Blues (1991) with special guest Mick Goodrick and Che Dio ti benedica (1993), contains two songs produced with Chick Corea. A great CD/Video Live called E ‘Sona Mo was recorded during Pino's acoustic guitar tour, which sold out in all the Italian stadiums. Non calpestare i fiori nel deserto, released in Spring 1995, continues its inspiration of African and ethnic influences. The album reached number one of the TOP Charts and won 8 times platinum. In that same year, he completed 3 Italian tours, the last one of which with Pat Metheny. Dimmi Cosa Succede Sulla Terra, released in 1997, won 10 Platinum Albums. The Best of, released in 1997, won 7 Platinum Albums. The album includes a track with the band Simple Mind. In June 1997 Mr. Luciano Pavarotti called Pino to be part of the show Pavarotti and Friends; they sang Napule è together. In 2000, he started a collaboration with BMG label; the first album was Medina in 2001, Mediterranean melody melting with traditional north african music, with the participation of Salif Keita. The project was co-produced by Daniele and Mike Mainieri. A success tour with a female band (Rachel Z, piano; Allison Miller, drum; Miriam Sullivan, bass and Mia Cooper, backing vocals) became a Live album called Concerto - Medina Tour 2010. Passi d’Autore, which was released in 2004 with Peter Erskine Trio (featuring Alan Pasqua and Dave Carpenter), a project fusing latin, jazz and madrigals vocals, won 4 times platinum. In 2008, Pino Daniele celebrated 30 years of artistic career with a triple best album, produced with Humberto Gatica followed by a tour with two bands and a celebratory gig in Naples with 200,000 people which was broadcast on TV. In September 2009 Pino had the honour to play at Apollo Theatre in New York, the first Italian artist being invited to perform at the Temple of American Soul. On April 22, Pino was the headliner for the Earth Day 2010 concert for the National Geographic Channel; broadcasted in 170 Countries in all over the world. Guest musicians on stage with Pino were Omar Hakim, Matthew Garrison, and Rachel Z. |
Born on March 19, 1955 in Naples, Pino Daniele is a self-taught guitarist. He began his career as bass and guitar player for successful singers in the 1970s. His striking debut in the Italian music world was 1977 with the album Terra mia, which proved to be a successful mix of Neapolitan tradition and Blues sounds; this album includes the song Napule è which has become a symbol of Naples to its citizens. In these years his lyrics also attracted critical praise: written and sung in an intense Neapolitan, they contained strong though bitter accusations against the social injustices of Naples, as well as Italian society in general, and included melancholic personal themes. Several of the later songs are characterized by a free intermingling of English, American and Neapolitan passages.