Beppe Gambetta | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | 1955 (age 68–69) Genoa, Italy |
Genres | Folk, bluegrass, Italian folk |
Occupation(s) | Musician, singer, author |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, harp guitar, vocals |
Years active | 1989–present |
Labels | Gadfly |
Website | www |
Beppe Gambetta (born 1955) is an Italian acoustic guitarist and singer. A native of Genoa, he is a composer, teacher, author, and researcher of traditional music and instruments.
In 1977, Gambetta founded Red Wine, an Italian bluegrass band. He wrote the first Italian instructional book on flatpicking. [1] His flatpicking style is similar to Doc Watson's and Moravian folk music. This style is characterized by flashy licks, intricate cross-picking patterns, open tunings, and fluid slides up and down the neck of the guitar. [2]
Although Beppe lives in Genoa, he travels throughout North America every year. He has performed in the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas, MerleFest in North Carolina, the Kerrville Folk Festival in Texas and festivals in Winnipeg and Edmonton. He has appeared on the radio programs All Things Considered and eTown .
Beppe has performed with David Grisman, Gene Parsons, Doc Watson, Norman Blake and the band Men of Steel, which comprises Dan Crary, Tony McManus, and Don Ross. He toured with banjo player Tony Trischka and released the accompanying live album Alone and Together. [3] In 2015, Gambetta embarked on a brief tour with cellist Rushad Eggleston. [4]
Gambetta recorded the album Traversata: Italian Music in America (Acoustic Disc, 2001) with mandolinist David Grisman and mandolinist Carlo Aonzo. On the album, he used a 14-string harp guitar custom made for him by Italian luthier Antonello Saccu. [1]
Beppe has been called a "virtual United Nations of influences: Italian, Ukrainian, Appalachian, Sardinian, Celtic". [3]
He has been described by The Huffington Post as one of the "best flatpickers anywhere." [5]
Tony McManus is a guitarist from Paisley, Scotland who plays finger-style acoustic guitar arrangements of tunes from Celtic music, classical music, and other genres. McManus emigrated from Scotland to Canada in 2003.
David Jay Grisman is an American mandolinist. His music combines bluegrass, folk, and jazz in a genre he calls "Dawg music". He founded the record label Acoustic Disc, which issues his recordings and those of other acoustic musicians. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2023.
David Anthony Rice was an American bluegrass guitarist. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and acoustic jazz. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
The mandocello is a plucked string instrument of the mandolin family. It is larger than the mandolin, and is the baritone instrument of the mandolin family. Its eight strings are in four paired courses, with the strings in each course tuned in unison. Overall tuning of the courses is in fifths like a mandolin, but beginning on bass C (C2). It can be described as being to the mandolin what the cello is to the violin.
Rushad Robert Eggleston is an American cellist, composer, jazz vocalist, & performer. Eggleston's music can be eccentric, with many references to fantasy and goblins. Eggleston is known for inventing words, and for his imaginative world called The Land of Sneth.
Mike Marshall is a bluegrass mandolinist who has collaborated with David Grisman and Darol Anger.
Darol Robert Anger is an American violinist and founding member of The David Grisman Quintet.
Kenneth Charles "Jethro" Burns was an American mandolinist and one-half of the comedy duo Homer and Jethro with Henry D. "Homer" Haynes.
Flatpicking is the technique of striking the strings of a guitar with a pick held between the thumb and one or two fingers. It can be contrasted to fingerstyle guitar, which is playing with individual fingers, with or without wearing fingerpicks. While the use of a plectrum is common in many musical traditions, the exact term "flatpicking" is most commonly associated with Appalachian music of the American southeastern highlands, especially bluegrass music, where string bands often feature musicians playing a variety of styles, both fingerpicking and flatpicking. Musicians who use a flat pick in other genres such as rock and jazz are not commonly described as flatpickers or even plectrum guitarists. As the use of a pick in those traditions is commonplace, generally only guitarists who play without a pick are noted by the term "fingerpicking" or "fingerstyle".
Todd Phillips is an American double bassist. He has appeared on a number of acoustic instrumental and bluegrass recordings made since the mid-1970s. A two-time Grammy Award winner and founding member of the original David Grisman Quintet, Phillips has made a career of performing and recording with acoustic music artists.
The Pizza Tapes is an album by Jerry Garcia, David Grisman (mandolin), and Tony Rice. It was recorded at Grisman's studio on two evenings in 1993, and features unrehearsed performances of folk and bluegrass songs. It was released on the Acoustic Disc label on April 25, 2000.
Pandemonio is a Lombardian folk band. Since the year 2000 they have been recovering and rearranging traditional Italian folk songs with elements from other sonorous worlds such as bluegrass, country and Irish music. The sound is based on acoustic guitars, mandolin, flutes and the bowed psaltery colored with polyphony voices.
Natural Bridge is an album by American banjoist Béla Fleck, released in 1982. Bela Fleck was a young bluegrass musician whose work with such bands as Spectrum and the New Grass Revival pushed the envelope of bluegrass tradition and contributed to the development of the New Acoustic movement spearheaded by mandolinist David Grisman, guitarist Tony Rice, and others. Influenced by Bill Keith and Tony Trischka, he moved the banjo sound much further than anyone could imagine.
David Grisman has issued albums with his groups the David Grisman Quintet and Old & In the Way, performed in duos with Jerry Garcia, Andy Statman, Martin Taylor, Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard, John Sebastian, Tony Rice, and played in the psychedelic band Earth Opera with Peter Rowan. He has produced solo albums and collaborated with musicians in many genres.
Tone Poems: The Sounds of the Great Vintage Guitars and Mandolins is an album of duets by mandolinist David Grisman and guitarist Tony Rice using vintage instruments.
Traversata is an album by American mandolinist David Grisman, Italian mandolinist Carlo Aonzo, and Italian guitarist Beppe Gambetta, playing guitar, mandolin, and the 14-string harp guitar.
Roberto Dalla Vecchia is an Italian guitarist, composer, and singer. He is known for his expressive melodies and songs which include many references to traditional American music and bluegrass.
Larry Dwayne Keel is an American bluegrass musician from Southwest Virginia who has been performing since 1976. He was a founding member of Magraw Gap in 1990. He also performs with his wife, bassist Jenny Keel, in The Larry Keel Experience. He has released over a dozen albums.
Rudy Cipolla, born Rodolfo Cipolla, was an Italian American mandolinist and composer.
Grant Gordy is an American guitarist and educator based in New York City. He played in the David Grisman Quintet and he is currently a member of Mr Sun with Darol Anger, Joe K. Walsh and Aidan O’Donnell.