Vittorio Camardese (

Potenza Potenza (, also , ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania). Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital and one ...

, 6 July 1929 – 2 July 2010) was an Italian

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

and

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

, most famous among musicians and general audiences for his '

tapping Tapping is a playing technique that can be used on any stringed instrument, but which is most commonly used on guitar. The technique involves a string being fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion. This is in contrast to stand ...

' style of guitar playing.

Biography

After attending high school in Potenza, Camardese moved to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to undertake higher studies. He graduated in

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

, specializing in

radiology Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiat ...

, then began professional medical practice at the Ospedale S. Filippo Neri in Rome, later working at the Policlinico Umberto I, also in Rome. He evolved his musical style through teaching himself, and in amateur performances. But in 1956, he played on the

RAI RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terr ...

Italian television

talent show A talent show is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are performances rather ...

''Primo applauso'', his first television appearance, in which he won first prize. The television programme ''Chitarra, amore mio'' featured him in 1965, and he was seen again in 1973 in the music-based talk show ''Speciale per voi''. He regularly visited two of Rome's most important jazz venues, the Music Inn and

Folkstudio Folkstudio was a musical club and a record label located in Rome, Italy. The club was founded in by the American painter, musician and actor Harold Bradley, Jr., and was located in Via Garibaldi, in Trastevere.Ernesto Bassignano; Lalla Cantore. ...

. Here, he joined several famous musicians in performances, including

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

Tony Scott Anthony David Leighton Scott (21 June 1944 – 19 August 2012) was an English film director and producer. He was known for directing highly successful action and thriller films such as ''Top Gun'' (1986), ''Beverly Hills Cop II'' (1987), ''Day ...

Joe Venuti Giuseppe "Joe" Venuti (September 16, 1903 – August 14, 1978) was an American jazz musician and pioneer jazz violinist. Considered the father of jazz violin, he pioneered the use of string instruments in jazz along with the guitarist Eddie La ...

Lelio Luttazzi Lelio Luttazzi (27 April 1923 – 8 July 2010) was an Italian composer, musician, actor, singer, conductor, writer, and television and radio presenter. Born in Trieste, Luttazzi began playing the piano at Radio Trieste and composing his first s ...

Romano Mussolini Romano Bruno Mussolini (26 September 1927 – 3 February 2006) was an Italian jazz pianist, painter, and film producer. He was the fourth child and youngest son of Benito Mussolini. Early life and education Romano Mussolini was native of Vi ...

and Irio de Paula. In 1978 he met his partner with whom he remained for 18 years. At the time, she had a three-year-old son, Roberto Angelini, who went on to become a singer and songwriter. The same year also saw Camardese's final television appearance. His shy and modest nature, together with the pressure of performing on live television, caused him to turn down further requests for such shows. Camardese died on July 2, 2010, four days before turning 81.

Media

Camardese's performances are poorly documented. The only widely-available film of his playing is his performance ''Chitarra, amore mio'', rebroadcast in later years by the Italian state broadcaster RAI. In this recording, Camardese's distinctive tapping style is clearly evident, where the fingers of the right hand strike the strings on the guitar neck, creating the musical notes and other sounds.

Film

A project to document Camardese's life and work is (as of May 2016) seeking funding. Its publicity is presented by Roberto Angelini, the son of Camardese's partner.

External links

*
Official Website

Indiegogo Film campaign
Italian guitarists Italian male guitarists Italian radiologists 2010 deaths Italian jazz musicians 1929 births Male jazz musicians {{Guitarist-stub