Rocco Ventrella : The Italian "Sax"
appeal December
20, 2007 - There are few talented smooth jazz
musicians coming from Italy. The saxophonist Rocco
Ventrella has overcome the challenge and has become
a successful musician in the USA. His superb Grover
Washington Jr-inspired style has a lot of "sax"
appeal. Let us hope that he has paved the way
for more European musicians to break onto North
American smooth jazz stage!
Akbar
Nour : Hi Rocco,
welcome to www.smoothjazznow.com. It is a pleasure
to talk to you.
To start with, there are
not so many Italian smooth jazz players. The
main name that comes to my mind is guitarist
Cristian Rocco and Enrico Catena's band, Westbound,
and their tasty debut CD "Miles Away"
(2006) and yours of course. So how do you explain
this phenomenon?
Rocco
Ventrella : I think it's because a good
99% of music coming to Italy is not smooth jazz.
If you listen to local radio stations, they
play mainly pop or rock music. So there are
limited possibilities for young musicians to
become smooth performers in Italy.
Rocco
with Eric Marienthal
Akbar
: In your case, you studied first clarinet,
performed with a symphony orchestra, then turned
to saxophone in Southern Italy (Bari). You performed
for the vocalist Fred Bongusto and with a Big
Band in Bari. So how did you find out smooth
jazz and what motivated you to move to the USA?
Rocco
: Well, it is thanks to the Internet that I found
out smooth jazz. When I was younger, I used to
listen to Grover Washington, Jr., Kirk Whalum,
Boney James and many more, but I didn't know that
their music was smooth jazz. When I discovered
it, I told myself that it was the kind of jazz
I had heard for many years. Then I got motivated
to come to the USA, especially in California to
enjoy this music on the spot and record my latest
album "Give Me The Groove".
Akbar
: One of your main influences seems to be
famous sax player Grover Washington Jr.,
who is regarded as one of the forefathers
of the smooth jazz genre. You recorded,
arranged and produced a CD "Tribute
to Grover Washington Jr" and composed
four tracks. So is this great musician your
main influence or are there any others?
Rocco
: Yes, Grover influenced me very much. I
love Grover! Another musician who influenced
me is Dave Sanborn, but I listen to others
musician as well.
Rocco
with Michael Brecker
Akbar
: In May 2006 you took part to the James
Brown festival and performed before the
Godfather of Soul's concert. How was the
experience?
Rocco
: Wow! I was so excited to play almost two
hours before James' show on the same stage!
I never had the opportunity to see one of
his shows before. Another great surprise for
me was to meet James' tenor saxophone player,
an Italian guy! It was a very funny story
and a great experience for me.
Akbar
: Then at the beginning of this year came
up your debut CD " Give Me The Groove",
a great piece of work, including 11 soulful
tracks that sound like a beautiful tribute
to the memory of Grover Washington Jr. The
CD blends your own compositions and some
great covers. It has been produced by Bruce
Nazarian, who has produced Anita Baker and
many other artists. How did the project
come to fruition?
Rocco
: Well, I was to play in Beverly Hills and
there I was lucky enough to meet Bruce Nazarian
who heard my "Winelight" version
of Grover Washington Jr's track on Sky FM.
Bruce told me "Rocco, you play like
a black, man! I would like to produce your
next album". I felt blessed to record
my album in Hollywood and it was a great
experience at Bruce's studio recording.
Akbar
: Your
CD was often played on radio stations throughout
the USA, it got immediate success and made
its way through the charts. What is also
interesting to note is that you rely mainly
on the Internet to promote and distribute
your music.
Rocco
: I think that the best way for an artist
to promote himself is through the Internet
and above all through live concerts. My web
promotion is going great but I would like
to promote myself more through live concerts.
The main problem I am having is my visa permission
for the USA. I am looking for a sponsor to
get a work visa permission but I have noticed
that it is hard to get.
Akbar : You
support epilepsy research through the Eplilepsy
Foundation. Why such an involvement?
Rocco
: Since her childhood my daughter Dalila
has been suffering from a light form of
epilepsy. The first time she had an epileptic
attack I was playing with her and it was
a terrible shock for me! When I went to
hospital I saw a lot of children diagnosed
with epilepsy. It touched me in my heart
and I felt motivated to support epilepsy
research to make this world a better place
for people with this terrible disease.
Akbar
: What are your future musical projects?
Rocco
: Well, I am now composing new tunes for
my next album. I would also like to perform
live with my band and tour with some great
musician as well. My dream is to play in
a smooth jazz cruise and in some US smooth
jazz festivals. I hope that such an opportunity
will arise soon!
December
20, 2007 - There are few talented smooth jazz
musicians coming from Italy. The saxophonist Rocco
Ventrella has overcome the challenge and has become
a successful musician in the USA. His superb Grover
Washington Jr-inspired style has a lot of "sax"
appeal. Let us hope that he has paved the way
for more European musicians to break onto North
American smooth jazz stage!
