Interview with Giuseppe Pucciarelli: That all the bad music doesn’t get the success it does not deserve: Video

Interview with guitarist, ungrateful and impolite person Giuseppe Pucciarelli. An interview by email in writing. 

JazzBluesNews.com: – First, let’s start out with where you grew up, and what got you interested in music. How exactly did your adventure take off? When did you realize that this was a passion you could make a living out of?

Giuseppe Pucciarelli։ – I grew up in the south of Italy, in a small town called Caggiano. I got into music, and more specifically Italian songwriting music, thanks to my dad, who plays the guitar himself. I was taught how to play the guitar at a very young age thanks to him. It wasn’t until my early twenties that I realized I could make a living out of music, just when I graduated fro the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

JBN։ – How has your sound evolved over time? What have you been doing to find and develop your own sound?

GP: – I have just been playing and studying music as much as I could. More importantly, listen to a lot of different musicians, so I can gather a bit from each one of them.

JBN։ – What routine practices or exercises have you developed to maintain and improve your current musical proficiency, in terms of both rhythm and harmony? 

GP: – Harmony is something you know, or you don’t. Once you know it, you know it. Rhythm is a different matter and I do practice it sometimes. I try to play tune in 5 or 7 for example, so I can practice playing in different time signatures. I also try to use different rhythm in my lines, and try to pay attention to this. I don’t have a routine, however. I tend to practice more if I have a concert to play or a recording to do.

JBN։ – Have you changed through the years? Any charges or overall evolution? And if so why?

GP: – I have definitely changed over the years and I believe I will sound different, 30 years from now. You can hear legend musicians changing overtime, so I guess it’s the nature. I did sound a lot like Metheny 10 years ago, but I worked towards escaping the Metheny rabbithole! (I still love Pat though, he’s my legend).

There could be talk or advertising about your CD

JBN։ – In your opinion, what’s the balance in music between intellect and soul?

GP: – Music is all about soul and emotion. If you put too much intellect and try to be too clever in what you write, it won’t sound good. That’s my opinion. I guess you can find the perfect balance in the Pat Metheny Group album ‘The Way Up’.

JBN։ – There’s a two-way relationship between audience and artist; are you okay with delivering people the emotion they long for?

GP: – I try not to think too much about what people think or feel.

JBN։ – Can you share any memories from gigs, jams, open acts and studio sessions over the years?

No memories, young man, ha, ha, ha …

JBN։ – How can we get young people interested in jazz when most of standard tunes are half a century old?

GP: – A good tune is a good tune. If you are young and know about music, you would recognize a good tune. The problem is, people don’t know the difference between good music and bad music. It’s like you want to explain math to someone who hasn’t gone to school. He/She’s not gonna get it. Hopefully, they can feel the spirit of a song and they’ll get something out of it.

JBN։ – John Coltrane once said that music was his spirit. How do you perceive the spirit and the meaning of life?

GP: – I’d like to discuss this perhaps more on a 10-hour interview with a glass of wine. Music is all about the spirit of someone, whether you’re listening, writing, composing or playing.

JBN։ – If you could change one single thing in the musical world and that would become reality, what would that be?

GP: – That all the bad music doesn’t get the success it does not deserve, and really good music and musicians get the respect they deserve.

JBN։ – Whom do you find yourself listening to these days?

GP: – Mainly Keith Jarrett and Ralph Towner.

JBN։ – Let’s take a trip with a time machine: where and why would you really want to go?

GP: – I’d like to attend a Keith Jarrett concert, which I haven’t had the fortune to do.

Interview by Simon Sargsyan

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