GIANNI PESSINO
Chasing
Smiling Face Records
Review by Mike O’Cull, independent music journalist. www.mikeocull.com
Gianni Pessino is a guitarist and songwriter from Italy with a remarkable grasp of many different writing and playing styles. His most recent release, Chasing, is packed with well-written tunes that range from jazzy funk to ballads to folk/rock. Pessino is a self-taught musician but plays and sings with the smoothness of a Music Major. His original music is influenced by the artists he has spent his life listening to, both old and new, like James Taylor, Neil Young, CSN&Y, Pat Metheny, The Eagles, John Mayer, and Jason Mraz. He also draws inspiration from Italian artists including Pino Daniele, Fabio Concato and Francesco De Gregori.
Chasing is Pessino’s debut album but is clearly the work of a thoughtful and mature musician. The songs here began coming together in 2009 and writing and recording them all has been an ongoing process. Pessino is backed up by an A-List studio band with power to burn that was brilliantly recorded, which makes Chasing full-on ear candy. Tracks like “Hole in My Soul,” “Once,” and “Butterflies” have a lot of commercial potential and it is easy to imagine Gianni breaking through to a much larger audience. Hopefully, this set will garner the attention needed to make that happen. Chasing is a well-executed record on all levels and makes an outstanding fit for listeners who like it smooth, grooving, and melodic. Here’s hoping Pessino has more tracks like these on the way.
Listen to Chasing on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5em9p6otZcNkxVLvLIPluB?si=UcngRR8FQ_miXDu112vIHQ
Official Website: http://www.giannipessino.it/