Gaetano "James" Senese (born 6 January 1945) is an Italian saxophonist, composer, and singer-songwriter.

James Senese
Background information
Birth nameGaetano Senese
Born (1945-01-06) January 6, 1945 (age 79)
Naples, Italy
GenresJazz
OccupationMusician
InstrumentSaxophone

Life and career

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Senese was born in Naples, the son of Anna Senese and James Smith, an American soldier from North Carolina in Italy because of World War II.[1][2] Senese's father moved back to the US eighteen months after Gaetano's birth and never returned.[3] Senese started playing the saxophone at 12 years old.[1] He made his professional debut in the 1960s, as a member of the rhythm and blues band The Showmen [it] (later known as Showmen 2), with whom he won the 1968 edition of Cantagiro.[1][2]

In 1974 Senese co-founded and led the critically acclaimed jazz-rock group Napoli Centrale. After the group disbanded in 1978, he started a long collaboration with Pino Daniele, both in studio and on stage. His first solo album was released in 1983 by Polydor Records.[1][2]

A documentary film about Senese, James, was directed in 2020 by Andrea Della Monica and premiered at the 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival.[4]

Discography

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  • James Senese (Polydor, 1983)
  • Il passo del gigante (Tobacco, 1984)
  • Alhambra (EMI Italiana, 1988)
  • Hey James (Blue Ange1, 1991)
  • Sabato Santo (Polosud, 2000)
  • Passpartù (ITWHY, 2003)
  • Tribù e passione (with Enzo Gragnaniello) (Edel Italia, 2003)
  • E' Fernut' 'o Tiempo (Arealive, 2012)
  • O sanghe (Alabianca/Warner, 2016)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Livio Quagliata (1 May 2016). "James Senese, "O' sanghe" di un nero a metà". La Repubblica. Retrieved 10 June 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Enzo Giannelli. "Senese, James". Gino Castaldo (ed.). Dizionario della canzone italiana. Curcio Editore, 1990.
  3. ^ "Biografia di James Senese". Cinquantamila.it. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  4. ^ "«James» Senese fa ripartire AstraDoc". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 16 December 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
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