Peppino D'Agostino

Career

D'Agostino first started playing the guitar after watching his cousin perform during church services in his hometown of Torino. He was self-taught and began picking out tunes by ear. Inspired by musicians like Paco de Lucia, Leo Kottke and Carlos Santana, he was composing and recording solos throughout Italy by the age of 18. He emigrated to San Francisco in 1984, and performed as a street musician before being discovered. He was described in the San Francisco Chronicle as "a poet…among the best talents around", and in Acoustic Guitar magazine as "one of the most capable composers among fingerstyle guitarists".

Music

In addition to regular live performances, D’Agostino has released eight solo albums in the US, two collaborations albums (one with electric guitarist Stef Burns and the other with classical musician David Tanenbaum) and three DVDs. He has been featured on numerous guitar samplers, and has written numerous guitar instructional books and videos. In 1997 he wrote, composed and produced a soundtrack for the feature length Italian movie Ardena, directed by Luca Barbareschi. D'Agostino is a member of the United Guitar Ensemble, an group composed of seven of the world's top classical guitarists and D'Agostino on steel string. His most recent solo recording is 2010’s self-released Nine White Kites.

In 2009 he collaborated on the last Flavio Sala's album De La Buena Onda.