Music that unites peoples — Interview with Tony Esposito
The voice of this interview
Antonio “Tony” Esposito
- Profession
- Percussionist, composer and songwriter
- Country of origin
- Naples, Campania, Italy
Neapolitan percussionist, composer and songwriter Tony Esposito discusses his relationship with music and his bond with Pino Daniele. The conversation explores music as a meeting point between peoples and cultures, and artists’ responsibility towards the environment.
When was your relationship with music born? What does it mean to you to consider it a voice of art?
Esposito: My relationship with music I think was born with me: I feel like a musician since I was a kid, because I always played. I listened to the radio and accompanied the songs. Music plays a key role in linking different peoples, cultures and realities. This power has remained unchanged over time.
The environment also deserves attention. Artists who perform in front of so many people, in Italy and in the world, have the duty to be sensitive to these themes, precisely because music has a great power.
Where politics is not at times... we have seen it in so many things, such as, for example, the movements for Africa, where Africa and the public debt of many African countries have been resolved thanks to particular British, American initiatives, which have gathered so many artists on a stage and have put together so much money." [GROANS]
“So the relationship with Pino was a close relationship, an adventure of life and music”
“Because music, we said, has incredible power”
His bond with Pino Daniele marked his life and career. After her death in 2015, what do you miss most about her friend and artist? What inheritance did you leave to music and to you personally?
Esposito: I also speak on behalf of my friends, of Tullio and James, who unfortunately is no longer there. We spent more than thirty years together: we were a family. I've seen Pino Daniele's songs and his success. I miss my friend, brother and artist, who is missing from all of us. Ours has been a deep bond, an adventure of life and music.
His premature death leaves a void in Italy and among artists from all over the world. At his disappearance I saw the telegrams sent by great artists from different countries, grieved for such a premature loss and, probably, unfair.
