Line Up

Daniele Gottardo | Guitar

Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Paul Gilbert, Guthrie Govan, Greg Howe, Eric Johnson, Zakk Wylde, Nuno Bettencourt, Richie Kotzen, Billy Sheehan

Nicolò Vese | Bass

Daniele Liverani, Federico Vese, Gabriele Bullita, Nico Di Battista, James Senese, Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo, Ne Obliviscaris, Caligula’s Horse

Giuseppe Risitano | Drums

Enrico Rava, Paolo Fresu, Stefano Di Battista, Fabrizio Bosso, Tullio De Piscopo, Maria Pia De Vito, Gianluca Petrella, Roberto Gatto, Danilo Rea, Rita Marcotulli

Style

Polyphonic jazz-rock where the electric guitar behaves like a full ensemble voice. Contrapuntal writing, modern harmony, odd-meter architecture and wide-screen dynamics. Virtuosity always serving form and narrative.

Profile

Daniele Gottardo Trio is built around a rare premise: the guitar is treated as orchestration. Gottardo’s writing layers melodic lead lines with inner voices, counterpoint and chamber-like voicings, then locks them into contemporary grooves where rock drive and jazz articulation coexist without compromise. The sound stays clear and composed even at high intensity—less a soloist with accompaniment, more three musicians sharing multiple roles at once.

That polyphonic idea extends to the rhythm section. Bassist Nicolò Vese expands the harmonic field through counterlines, register shifts and chordal color, moving between supportive foundation and melodic engine with a modern prog-fusion touch. Drummer Giuseppe Risitano completes the architecture with a contemporary-jazz approach to time and dynamics: a precise pocket when needed, open texture when the arrangement calls for air, and an instinct for shaping transitions as part of the form.

The band’s signature sits at the intersection of modern fusion and progressive attitude: intricate voicings, tight rhythmic design, and a cinematic sense of arc.

Recognition

Often cited as included by Steve Vai among the world’s “Top 10 Emerging Guitarists”, Daniele Gottardo has also been publicly singled out by Vai as a rare “blue-moon” discovery—and introduced as his “favorite new young guitar player.”

Details

Daniele Gottardo’s catalog is shaped by long-form composition for electric guitar, where orchestration, counterpoint, and modern harmony become structural elements. The writing favors clarity under pressure: layered voices and designed dynamics that keep dense material readable.

“Once in a blue moon… I come across a guitar talent that is truly stimulating to me… Daniele Gottardo is one of those people.” (Steve Vai, Vai.com, 2014-04-25)

Nicolò Vese approaches the bass as a shared-role instrument: opening harmonic space, doubling and counterlining with intent, shifting between foundation and thematic voice without breaking the groove.

Giuseppe Risitano balances precision and air: strong time feel when the architecture needs a spine, and elastic dynamics when the arrangement asks for depth and perspective.