INTERVIEW: Patrizio Buanne brings Neapolitan love songs to NJPAC

Patrizio Buanne will play the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Victoria Theater. Photo courtesy of the artist / Provided by Prana Marketing with permission.

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Patrizio Buanne, an ambassador of Italian music, has a Valentine’s Day treat for audience members in the United States. The successful singer, who was born in Austria and grew up in his family’s native city of Naples, Italy, has planned a concert experience that will have significant others swaying to his crooning tunes and even dancing in the aisles to his uptempo songs.

Buanne, who is currently touring the Northeast, plays Friday, Feb. 15 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Victoria Theater in Newark, New Jersey. Few tickets remain for the concert.

“I always say that the fans shouldn’t expect anything because it’s always a good surprise to see something new,” Buanne said in a recent phone interview. “The fans, the people that know my music, can expect to hear all the great hits, the songs that they have listened to and discovered years ago, which is all the fantastic, beautiful, timeless Italian standards — all these songs that people associate with their vacation in Naples and Sicily and wherever they go.”

Buanne called the songbook he brings to life the “soundtrack” of southern Italy, and he has been digging deep into this soundtrack for years. From his 2005 release, The Italian, to his most recent album, Italianissimo, Buanne’s recordings cherish the unique musical sounds of Naples and Sicily — capturing the love, the emotion and the history of a postcard-like corner of the world.

“That’s what Patrizio is known for,” he said. “That’s what Patrizio is ambassador for. They can expect that they will be able to have a romantic time, especially because it’s the Valentine’s Day period, so they will be able to have a romantic evening with their beloved one, with their sweetheart and also be moved.”

“Being moved” has a double meaning for Buanne, who speaks fluent Neapolitan, German, English, French and Spanish. On the one hand, he wants the audience to be emotionally moved by these songs, which include “Ti Amo,” “Oh, Marie,” “Su Di Noi” and “Bella Notte / Non Dimenticar.” On the other hand, he actually wants them to move their bodies.

“I’m going to sing some uptempo songs,” he promised. “I will cook to my audiences like I cook the pasta. I’ll make it very hot, very spicy, and hot and fun, and that’s really it. What else to expect? A beautiful venue as you know, amazing musicianship, lots of fun and lots of emotion. At the end of the day, people will not remember the details. They will not remember which [song] they heard, what they saw, what they heard, but they will remember how I make them feel. And that’s my goal. My goal is to make them feel great.”

Buanne’s background positioned him nicely for a career in the music industry. He was born in Vienna, a city he calls the “heart of Europe,” but his family comes from Naples, another legendary city known for its musical contributions.

His father opened a restaurant in Naples and would play Italian standards. Buanne would play on the floor nearby with his Matchbox cars and Lego blocks, and his father’s music would be played quite loud. The influence spilled over and entered Buanne’s ears at a young age.

“My father played that music for 60-90 minutes, and by the third cassette I would know all the songs,” he said. “So I sang along with them as a child, as a 3-, 4-, 5-year-old child. Music became my hobby. I played football as well, but not that much. I would go maybe play football, going out as a teenager, but my hobby was singing, buying records.”

As a teenager, Buanne struggled with the hit songs of the day. He couldn’t relate to the tunes that were climbing up the charts. He appreciates rock music and plays the guitar, but he finds that genre of music sometimes deemphasizes the role of the singer. Loud drums and screaming guitars can drown out the vocals, and the vocals matter so much to Buanne.

“I thought that the singing would be like trying to over-shout and over-scream the instrument,” he said. “I discovered then the voices of singers such as Roy Orbison … or Tom Jones or Freddie Mercury, and that made me decide that I want to be a singer. So I started languages. My real profession is I’m an interpreter, but music was such a great way to express myself. I tried to introduce my music around the world, and now the music is bringing me around the world.”

For Buanne, his latest album, Italianissimo, is a special project, but truthfully each of his many recordings matter a great deal to the singer. This is a tough music industry where listeners no longer buy full albums in bulk, so he recognizes that each time he steps into a studio is a precious moment.

“I still work with orchestras,” he said. “I still work with great musicians. I don’t go into the studio and do the album on the computer. Some of it we, of course, program, but most of it is recorded.”

The changes in the music industry and the ease by which fans can listen to the music for free has upended the business model for many singers.

“I work with great bands, musicians, orchestras, and every CD is something special because you never know if it’s going to be the last CD,” he said. “Many cars don’t even have CD players anymore. Music is downloadable for free officially. It’s not even considered piracy, so every CD that comes out and every year that we in this industry have longer is a year of happiness because we don’t know. We don’t go into the bakery and just put a piece of bread into our pockets. The music industry though became unfortunately that.”

For Italianissimo, Buanne was able to record songs in three different locations: the United States, Mexico and Vienna.

“I did some great arrangements with some fantastic Mexican musicians, so we have the Latin vibe on it, the European vibe on it and the very Northern American sound on it as well,” the singer said. “So all of that stays very true to its feeling, which is Italian, so that’s why I call it Italianissmo. For those who don’t understand what Italianissimo means … if it’s more than a bravo, it’s bravissimo. If it’s buono, which is good, it’s buonissimo. So more than Italian is Italianissimo. I should have called the album Patrizissimo, but nobody would be able to pronounce it other than me.”

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

Patrizio Buanne is currently touring the Northeast of the United States. He plays Friday, Feb. 15 at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Victoria Theater in Newark, New Jersey. Click here for more information and tickets.