November 26th, 2015 – “Playing outside one’s national borders is always an enriching experience for one’s personal journey, both artistic and human. When I’m abroad, I’m reminded of how great Italy is: our culture, gastronomy, history, civilization is sincerely appreciated all over the world by people who are waiting to explore with us all this. Obviously for me it’s the opposite: I’m curious to learn about different lifestyles, I like to visit museums, to further my musical culture.” Filippo Cosentino is a young musician from Piedmont, and one of the most popular jazz guitarists on the international scene. He is currently touring abroad in France, Germany, Finland, Lithuania, Hong Kong with a trio featuring the Finnish pianist Karri Luhtala. The two “met last spring during the festival that I direct artistically ‘Roero Music Fest’ organized by the Finnish Embassy: I wanted to involve him in setting up a concert in Finland and in Italy. I also asked the talented and well-known jazz drummer Andrea Marcelli who lives in Berlin to collaborate. This is the trio that between May and July presented the project ‘Italy meets Finland’ also thanks to the collaboration of the Italian Institute of Culture in Helsinki. Later – adds the musician – Karri asked my availability for a tour in late November with Stefano Guercilena and Gloria Trapani, in which we would perform songs of the popular Italian music tradition but also original compositions by Gloria, Karri and obviously from my latest album L’Astronauta (published by ERL and recorded with Antonio Zambrini, Andrea Marcelli and Jesper Bodilsen)”.
“Playing your own music abroad is fantastic – explains an enthusiastic Cosentino – seeing the attentive audience absorbed in my music is an image that often accompanies me in my concerts; and it’s exciting to give yourself over to people who may be geographically far apart from yourself. I think that to some extent there is an exchange by osmosis on both sides. Somehow this experience fascinates me the most because it’s the one that happens with the greatest simplicity and humility.” Often Cosentino meets Italian jazz guitarist in the audience, when he’s performing abroad: “I’m glad about this weird tradition. We can immediately connect, and meet again in the same places year after year. This is how I got to meet many Italians abroad and for each I have a particular memory in mind.”
When asked about his passion for music and jazz, Cosentino’s eyes look to a distant past: “My love for jazz began when I was in middle school: I asked my parents to go to the cassette store (cassettes! There were still cassettes!) and I bought one of Charlie Parker and one by Luis Armstrong. When we got home I played the second one first, on instinct, and I was thunderstruck. There were no pictures and I had no internet so my imagination was roaming free. I imagined that that singer / trumpeter had to be someone extremely happy, and that somehow he enjoyed this music so much that it amused me, too.”
But his passion continues to this day, as Cosentino has no intention of stopping: “last week I recorded two albums with a baritone guitar thanks to MILK (which he met at Jazzit Fest 2015). The first will be released in upcoming months: it is work we are very happy about, and I hope it gives us great satisfaction.” Upon Cosentino’s return to Italy, he will engage in a new series of concerts with Karri Luhtala, Stefano Guercilena and Gloria Trapani. The group is scheduled for a gig on Dec. 4 at Seyssel Café in Sommariva Bosco and on Dec. 5 at the Restaurant La Cascata in Verduno (Cn); on December 27, Cosentino will perform with his baritone guitar at the Roccella Jazz Festival – Jazz Christmas 2015. (Red)
