L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 36 L'Italo-Americano " T h e s o u n d t r a c k , much like the short film itself, was cre- a t e d a t h o m e . M y a p a r t m e n t h o u s e s my recording studio, where Sean would drop by for us to work, chat, and enjoy music over discussions and plates of spaghetti." G i o s u è G r e c o i s recounting the making of the soundtrack for Nai Nai & Wai Po, a short film direct- ed by his friend Sean Wang. Sean is the grandson of the film's protagonists, Yi Yan Fuei and Chang Li Hua, aged 96 and 86, respectively. Nai Nai means paternal grand- mother in Taiwanese, while W à i P ó m e a n s m a t e r n a l grandmother in Mandarin. "During the pandemic, Sean returned to live with his fam- ily in Fremont, just south of S a n F r a n c i s c o , " G r e c o explains. "He frequently vis- i t e d t h e h o u s e w h e r e h i s grandmothers live together, which inspired him to docu- ment their lives." This inspi- ration led to the creation of Nai Nai & Wai Po — now a Focus Features acquisition a v a i l a b l e o n D i s n e y + — which also competed at the O s c a r s , j u s t a c o u p l e o f weeks ago. Born in 1990 and raised in Polistena, a town in the Reg- gio Calabria province, Giosuè G r e c o e m b a r k e d o n h i s musical journey early at the Vibo Valentia Conservatory. His American dream began i n t h e s u m m e r o f 2 0 0 9 , when he participated with h i s s a x o p h o n e , a s p a r t o f U m b r i a J a z z , i n a c o u r s e o f f e r e d b y t h e e s t e e m e d Berklee College of Music i n B o s t o n . T h i s l e d t o a s c h o l a r s h i p a w a r d . " T h a t scholarship was my ticket to Boston. Initially planned as a brief overseas study experi- ence, the extension of my scholarship convinced me to stay longer," he shares from his Highland Park home stu- dio. "My prior music educa- tion in Calabria allowed me t o c o m p l e t e m y d e g r e e i n sound production and engi- n e e r i n g i n t w o a n d a h a l f years instead of the usual four." Greco's musical career in Massachusetts didn't just take off—it pivoted. "Though I arrived as a saxophonist, I shifted focus to music tech- n o l o g y , e n r o l l i n g i n t h e Music Production and Engi- neering program." What motivated you to make this decision? At Berklee's studio, I had access to an abundance of equipment and resources, which honestly, in today's world, even for professionals l i k e m e , i s r a r e . F o r instance, I was able to work w i t h a c o n s o l e f r o m t h e 1960s. Moreover, it wasn't just about having access to things but, more important- l y , t o p e o p l e . T w o o f m y i n s t r u c t o r s w e r e S u s a n R o g e r s , w h o r e c o r d e d Prince's "Purple Rain," and Jonathan Wyner, who has w o r k e d w i t h P i n k F l o y d , Nirvana, and Miles Davis. And then, after gradu- ating, you moved to Los Angeles? Not immediately. I pon- dered, "Should I go to New Y o r k , N a s h v i l l e , o r L o s Angeles?" So, I spent a cou- ple of months in New York. H o w e v e r , t h e c i t y w a s n ' t right for me; the industry t h e r e i s h e a v i l y c e n t e r e d around Broadway produc- t i o n s , w h i l e L o s A n g e l e s offers far more opportuni- t i e s i n e n t e r t a i n m e n t . Therefore, I moved to Cali- f o r n i a i n 2 0 1 4 . H e r e , I essentially began gaining studio experience, working for software companies in "quality assurance." I've had many diverse experiences in the music field, working for o n e c o m p o s e r a n d t h e n another until the opportuni- ty arose to compose music for a TV show. That's when I realized that I enjoyed it, I was good at it, and it came naturally to me. When did the turning p o i n t t h a t l e d t o y o u r first Oscar happen? E v e r y t h i n g c h a n g e d i n 2018 when I got the oppor- tunity to compose the origi- nal music for a short film titled Period. End of Sen- tence, directed by Iranian- American filmmaker Rayka Zehtabchi. The short was later nominated for an Oscar and won. It's now available on Netflix. Interestingly, it was nominated in the same category for which we were nominated this year. Both shorts share the same direc- tor of photography, Sam A. Davis, who also worked with Sean Wang on Nai Nai & Wai Po and Dìdì. It was he who introduced me to Sean Wang. W h a t d i d S e a n l i k e about your music? And how would you define it? My style? It's hard to say. My music is almost deliber- ately flawed, in the sense t h a t I a p p r e c i a t e w h e n music sounds like it's played by just a few people as if the musicians were all together in a room and had never met before. I love to capture the magic of the first take — the enchantment of seeing and playing music together for the first time, because it's something that has always appealed to me. For various reasons, sometimes due to s p e e d o r b u d g e t , I f i n d myself playing all the instru- ments for work. This aspect of not playing everything at an extremely professional level, in my opinion, adds a certain charm to my style. I'm a saxophonist; that's my specialty, but I play a bit of everything. Composers in general play a bit of every- t h i n g . H o w e v e r , I n e v e r aspired to play other instru- ments as if I were a profes- sional virtuoso, but more as if it were an improvisation. For Sean Wang, you also composed the score for the feature film Dìdì, which, after making the rounds at major US fes- t i v a l s l i k e A F I i n L o s A n g e l e s a n d S X S W i n Austin, Texas, went on to win the US Dramatic Audience Award and the U S D r a m a t i c S p e c i a l J u r y A w a r d f o r B e s t E n s e m b l e C a s t a t t h e Sundance Film Festival in Park City. What was that experience like? Dìdì was truly a smash hit and an extraordinary experi- ence because it was essen- tially shot last August, film- i n g w r a p p e d u p a t t h e b e g i n n i n g o f S e p t e m b e r , and between October and early December, it was edit- e d a n d f i n i s h e d . I t w a s a w h i r l w i n d p r o j e c t ! V e r y m u c h a n i n d e p e n d e n t endeavor, very "boots on the ground." In that case, too, Sean came over to my place to work on the music togeth- er. As always, amidst chats and plates of pasta! Giosuè Greco: from Calabria to the US, for the love of music SILVIA NITTOLI Italian musician Giosuè Greco (Photo: Cameron Jordan photography) LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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