25 f 12 shots from the fRoots Rocket Launcher
a dozen leading questions to fire at Mauro Durante of Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino
If you were given the funds to organise a concert bill, who would the artists be?
No limitations usually leads to lack of
good and effective ideas… but sure I wish I could see live artists like Mercedes Sosa, the Buena Vista Social Club with Compay Segun- do and Ibrahim Ferrer, but also Michael Jack- son, The Beatles and Bob Marley…
Which totally obscure record do you most treasure and would like more people to know about?
More than records, it’s my precious database of ethnographic field recordings in Salento, Puglia and Southern Italy overall. It’s full of true gems, and never fails me when I’m looking for inspiration or some beauty.
What was the best live gig you ever saw?
This is really challenging. Many artists left a deep impression on me, but if I have to pick one the first that comes to my mind is Caetano Veloso’s concert in Piazza Duomo in Lecce a few years ago, accompanied by his voice and guitar only.
And what was the worst?
This wouldn’t be nice to tell… let’s say I hate seeing people going on stage without showing passion, love and dedication. I pre- fer some amateurs that deliver a flawed but sincere and passionate gig, than some professional musicians that go on stage without even acknowledging the presence of an audience.
What was your own best ever gig? The next one, I hope… And what was your worst?
I won’t tell the names, but once I was a guest in a special project, where the main musician, sitting on a throne, was getting himself literally crowned by a half-naked woman, while me and the other musicians were trying to play songs we had never rehearsed.
What’s the professional achievement you’re most proud of?
I’m really proud that also thanks to the work of Canzoniere, the Pizzica music and dance is becoming more and more an estab- lished reality in the international world music scene.
What’s the most embarrassing thing you ever did in public?
He he… I was very young… it was win-
ter, and as result of a game penalty, I had to go walk the streets wearing only my under- wear, and shouting ‘Merry Christmas’!
Which song or piece of music would you most like to have written yourself?
The Requiem of Mozart.
Who was the first musician or singer you were inspired to emulate?
My father; his hands on the guitar are among my very first memories.
Who was the last-but-one musician or singer you lusted after?
Strangely my crushes were more on actresses, the last ones being Penelope Cruz and Eva Green.
If you had a rocket launcher, who or what would be the target, and why?
I would destroy all the walls and barri-
ers, physical and mental, that prevent peo- ple from helping each other as a communi- ty. What we are experiencing today, with the migrations for example, is one of the worst tragedies of our history.
Mauro Durante leads Italy’s Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, whose latest incarna- tion (the band was co-founded four decades ago by Mauro’s parents and oth- ers) have been wowing audiences interna- tionally with tours and their most recent CD Quaranta. He’s also recently collaborated with Eliza Carthy on her Generations pro- ject.
canzonieregrecanicosalentino.net F
root salad
Photo: © Judith Burrows
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