Filippo Gambetta is an Italian multi instrumentalist (diatonic accordion and bandolim) and composer. The music that he presents is innovative contemporary folk music with lots of different influences. Hailing from Genoa, in northern Italy, Filippo began playing the diatonic accordion at the age of fourteen; his music is steeped in northern Italian folk idioms, but also taps Nordic, Celtic, Balkan and other global inspirations.
He recorded three albums for the italian label Felmay proposing his music: Stria (2000), Pria Goaea (2002), Andirivieni (2009). Stria won the first prize at the Greenage Festival (Italy) and the second prize of the Kaustinen Folk Music Festival Competition (Finland). In 2015 he released Otto Baffi, a self-produced album focused on the 2 row / 8 bass diatonic accordion in G/C. It features 22 guest musicians and contains 12 original tracks. The album won the 12th “Premio Città di Loano” (the most important national annual award for folk music in Italy) as Best Album of traditional music. It has been broadcasted in the main European national radios such as YLE, RAI, BBC, SRF 2 KULTUR. The album is included among the best 100 album released in 2015 for the magazine Folk Roots.
CURRICULUM
The Filippo Gambetta Trio, with upright bass player Riccardo Barbera and guitarist Claudio de Angeli, toured extensively Italy, Europe and Canada, performing Filippo’s music. They have played at Trad.it Festival (Holland), Halkaer Festival, Aarhus Folk Festival (Denmark), Mission Folk Festival, Harrison Festival of the Arts, Vancouver Folk Festival, Festival Vancouver, Festival d’été de Quebec, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Calgary Folk Festival, Edmonton Folk Festival, Vancouver Island Musicfest (Canada), Folkest, Folk Festival Castelfidardo, MusicaStrada Festival, Radio3 inFestival, La Valigia de Suoni, Perinaldo Festival, Festival TousCouleurs, Le Grand Soufflet (France), Folk Club Zuri, Folk Club Buttrio, Folk Club Turin and Irgoli Accordion Festival to name a few.
The new project with Carmelo Russo (guitar) and Sergio Caputo (fiddle) started in summer 2017 and brought the trio in some important national kermesses such as Festival di Musica Popolare di Forlimpopoli, Civitella Alfedena Folk Festival, Rassegna Via Adriatica, Suq Genova, Festival Suoni della Murgia, Etétrad, Musica nelle Aie.
The transatlantic musical partnership of Filippo Gambetta and Emilyn Stam (fiddle and piano) is borne out of a shared sensibility that transcends their upbringings on opposite sides of the world. Filippo and Emilyn have toured both Europe and Canada together, having performed at festivals such as Kaustinen Folk Festival (Finland), Festival TousCouleurs (Italy), Vancouver Island MusicFest (Canada), Mission Folk Festival (Canada), Vienna International Accordion Festival (Austria), Premio Città di Loano (Italy), Fiera del Libro di Torino (Italy). The duo presents both original compositions and traditional dance tunes mostly from the Western European tradition.
Filippo is a member of the Italian folk music band Liguriani, with whom he tours extensively Europe. Hohenloher Kultursommer (Germany), Rheingau Festival (Germany), Gong! / MITO (Italy), Tolo de Asturies (Spain), Celtic Connections (UK), Rudolstadt Folk Festival (Germany), Scottish Weekend in Alden (Belgium), Locarno Folk (Switzerland), Festival di Musica Popolare (Forlimpopoli), Brandemburgishe Sommerkonzerten (Germany), Gooikorts (Belgium), Bardentreffen Nuremberg (Germany), are some of the festivals where the band performed. I Liguriani is a five-member band from Liguria; the line up is: Fabio Rinaudo on Central French musette pipes, Fabio Biale on violin and voice, Michel Balatti on flute, Filippo Gambetta on accordion and Claudio De Angeli on guitar. Their eclectic repertoire includes traditional Italian folk tunes and ballads, dance music of the Appenine Mountains, as well as waltzes and marurkas with a French touch. The band’s accomplished musicianship and infectious joy in the playing of these tunes has won I Liguriani acclaim throughout Europe. The band released two albums for the label Felmay, widely broadcasted in the main European networks.
Filippo is also involved in the world music group Voyage de Nuit, combining Celtic melodies with Mediterranean and French styles. Philipe Guidat, Nuala Kennedy, Hamid Gribi and François Breugnot are the members of the group, which performed in important festivals such as Festival des Hautes Terres, Festival du Volcan de Montpeloux, Festival Eurofonik, Festival Les Automnales du Puy-de-Dôme, Festival Les Tradigordines, Festival du Haut-Livradois, Halkaer Festival.
As a mandolin player of the band ChocoChoro (with Marco Moro and Fabrizio Forte), he plays instrumental Brazilian music; the band’s debut album was broadcasted on the national Italian radio Rai Radio Tre programme Fahreneit in 2014.
He works as a composer for theatre as well as for contemporary dance performances. He has composed original music for the theater pieces Noi che sempre navighiamo (Teatro della Tosse, Genova), Verso Macondo (Teatro dell’Archivolto, Genova), Che ci fa la Mafia a Genova? (Tam Tam Teatro, Genova), L’Isola (Mondomare Festival, Sanremo), Halloween! (Auditorium Montale, Genova). He has performed with the actors Gioele Dix, Fabrizio Matteini, Mauro Pirovano and Laura Bombonato and wih the contemporary dance company UbiDanza.