Without doubt a figure known for his charisma, but also for being a Renaissance man: singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, lyricist and painter. Paolo Conte reinvents himself and revolutionises his writing, recording an entirely instrumental album. “Amazing Game” is the title of this new album, released all over the world (also in Switzerland - buy it on iTunes). At the venerable age of 79, the maestro launches his first fully instrumental album, on which he gathers 23 recordings set in different eras. Here he consecrates the arrival of a completely new style of music - “I followed the whole history of jazz, but then I took refuge among the archaic ones. A small revolution within the great revolution,” Conte explains to us during the interview. As he grows older, his desire to take risks, to improvise, has not diminished “I asked myself what music might look like as seen by a sensitive drummer” and the answer lies in this album - “he witnesses everything that happens, pierced by all the harmonies.” In this “new debut,” the artist exalts silence as the pivotal instrument for composing his music. “Silence is a wonderful strategy - he states - silence is singing well, while words, at a certain point, become too tight for you. Music tells a more palpable tale than words,” and it is here that he reaffirms his passion for the art of the twentieth century and above all for the twenties, the taste for the informal and the abstract, the preference for tonality. There is a strong gap - he explains - between the end of the nineties and the two-thousands “there is too strong a presence of content over form,” but this does not mark the halt of the great singer-songwriter, who now more than ever is committed to carrying forward new projects. “I have a great producer for the new album, I expect a lot from Decco.” He also hints at a few projects for his near future “a few film scores, just around the corner there could be the film.” The one speaking is an artist who has experienced and still experiences the sociological changes of humanity with great regard for the role of today's woman - “I have great respect for women. There was a historic moment when man and woman began to communicate, but in any case the charm of before is no longer there.”
Buy Paolo Conte's new album - Amazing Game
To the question of whether he can glimpse any possible heir on the musical scene, Paolo surprises, emphasising - “I have had thousands of teachers, but no heir. I don't know whether it is praise for me or a flaw not to be able to pass anything on to others.” In any case, this new album promises sparks “the setlists are put together by tonality, from the slowest to the fastest, and I have always had an excellent relationship with classical music.” After the tour, which foresees as its first stop 22 October Rome, 29 October Brescia, 11 and 12 November Milan, 12 November Turin and 29 November Hamburg “I would like to rest, I feel homesick when I leave, but the tour is something you face and it stimulates me at the same time. I love savouring the genuine cuisine of every city, grasping the essence that each place I visit implies to me. Today there is more interest in instrumental music, and this can only make me a happy person. Instrumental music listens to the soul of the instruments and this depends above all on who plays the instrument.”
In depth
Born in Asti on 6 January 1937, over his more than fifty-year career he has been the author of music for other artists, including “Azzurro” written for Adriano Celentano, “Insieme a te non ci sto più” for Caterina Caselli and “Tripoli '69” for Patty Pravo. In 1974 he decided to devote himself exclusively to the artistic profession, setting in motion a career studded with awards and successes, where the jazz style leaves a significant mark on his record, already predestined to be one of the most awarded of all time in the Italian music scene.
Interview location
c/o Mudec – Museo delle Culture
Via Tortona, 56 (MM2 P.ta Genova)
Milan (Italy)
