Three generations united by a passion for the guitar. The evening scheduled today at the MusiCA Arena in Fiera in Cagliari, presented by the Forma e Poesia nel Jazz cooperative, will be an extraordinary journey from the future to the present, through the history of the six strings. Guest star is Texan ace Eric Johnson, 71, a guitar virtuoso who is also a pianist and singer-songwriter, with 17 albums and eight Grammy nominations to his name. He will be preceded by the young talent from Cagliari, Gabriele Chiesa , still 13 years old and already boasting a vast repertoire of blues and singer-songwriter material. Then comes Palermo-born guitarist Matteo Mancuso , 29, who leads his trio with Riccardo Oliva on bass and Gianluca Pellerito on drums, riding high on the success of his latest album, "Route 96."
Matteo Mancuso, what does it mean to you to share the stage with a guitar legend like Eric Johnson?
"He's a hero to me. A song like 'Cliffs of Dover,' one of his most popular pieces and a Grammy winner for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, opened up a whole new world for me. He was able to infuse the blues like no other with elements of rock, jazz, fusion, folk, new age, and even country."
Do you still feel like a fan or a colleague?
"Certainly not a colleague, at most a student who never stops learning: it's like comparing the Champions League to Serie B."
He plays the electric guitar “fingerstyle”, without a pick: why?
I was looking for a vocabulary inspired by other instruments, in an attempt to "copy" the way pianists or saxophonists think, for example. Without a pick, I seem to be able to do it.
Is instrumental music a niche choice today?
"In pop, there's a lot of packaging to reach a wide audience. I don't care if 500 people listen to me or 5,000. I'd feel like an impostor if I tried to do something just to please other people: I make the music I like."
The web is full of guitarists posting perfect videos on social media: what distinguishes a musician from a performer?
"I'd say there's a difference between an instrumentalist and an artist: the artist has something to say, the instrumentalist doesn't. As for social media, I have a strict rule: I personally only offer what I can reproduce on stage. No retouching."
What music do you listen to?
«I grew up with AC/DC and Led Zeppelin, thanks to my father who was a producer and my brother who was a guitarist like me. Without them, perhaps I would never have known this world. Who knows».
If you could go back to fifteen-year-old Matteo who spent his days studying the guitar, what advice would you give him today?
«I would tell him to study even more and try to gain more experience, an extremely useful phase in the growth of a musician».
As an islander, what is your relationship with Sardinia?
"It's always fascinated me: it's peaceful, relaxing, with a wilder feel than Sicily. I understand the transportation challenges, but I've chosen to stay on my island: I don't want to sacrifice my lifestyle for a better-connected airport."