Pino Daniele and the guitar Di Dio. I like the blues (and the harmony on stage)

And now it plays... Pino Daniele's (half) dark soul takes on voice and feeling on Thursday in Bergamo on the stage in Via Serassi with guitarist Osvaldo Di Dio and four pillars of the sound that marked the epic "A me me piace 'o blues": Gigi De Rienzo on bass, Ernesto Vitolo on keyboards, Rosario Jermano on percussion, and Lele Melotti on drums. Vitolo and Jermano have been with Mascalzone Latino since their first album, De Rienzo since their second, and Melotti with him during the pop breakthrough of "Che dio ti benedica" and "Non calpestare i fiori nel deserto."

Debuted in January in the intimate setting of the Blue Note to present the eponymous recording project, “Blues for Pino” was born on the tenth anniversary of his death from the passion of Di Dio, who graduated from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan (with a thesis on Jimi Hendrix) and later worked alongside eminences of our song such as Battiato, De André (Cristiano), Ramazzotti and Alice.

Osvaldo, have concerts strengthened your bond? "Playing on stage is completely different from the studio, because night after night it sharpens your understanding, complicity, and harmony. So much so that we're recording almost all the concerts with the intention of making a live album."

What will change compared to the studio recordings? "There are ten songs on 'Blues for Pino,' while the live recordings feature almost double that. So there's plenty of material to choose from. Just think of notable absences from our first album, like 'Tutta 'nata storia,' 'Chesoddisfazione,' or the instrumental 'Toledo.'"

On September 18th, Naples will remember Daniele with a major concert in Piazza del Plebiscito. "The organizers have also expressed interest in our project. We've expressed our availability and are awaiting their response. Of course, we hope to be there."

Several shows featuring Pino's music have sprung up this year, one even featuring De Rienzo and Vitolo themselves. "'Blues for Pino' is an artistic project that begins with the arrangements, with the opportunity to reimagine the songs with the musicians of the time. Others, however, start from a different concept, that of faithfully reproducing the sound of the records. A choice, in my opinion, equally right. Daniele's music allows for different approaches. And this is absolutely beneficial for the audience."

The past and future of a special repertoire. "I think Pino has pointed out many paths, some of which still need to be fully explored. I'm thinking, for example, of the idea of linking the blues to the Neapolitan tradition, so evocatively encapsulated in the grooves of 'Nero a metà'. Well, I think there's still a long way to go in that direction."

Which song has the live experience of this tour enriched the most? "Thanks to live improvisation, almost all the songs take on a more expanded form than on the album—just think of 'Yes I Know (My Way)', which on the album lasts three and a half minutes and in concerts can reach ten minutes. From this point of view, our show has a slightly '70s approach, like an American jam band in the style of Tedeschi Trucks Band or Warren Haynes' Gov't Mule."

But what would you ask Pino today? "This is a question I've asked myself at least a hundred times. Perhaps I'd ask him why, throughout his career, he waited so long to reform his historic bands, to reunite so many of the champions of that 'Neapolitan power' of which he was the most prominent exponent; at a certain point he distanced himself a bit, but in the final phase of his journey he reconnected with it in a big way. And that's how I like to remember him."