Deep voice, songs that hit you straight in the chest, and a smile that lets the enthusiasm of a young boy shine through. Jack Savoretti, born in 1983, is a composer and singer of Italian origins. His family immigrated to England in the late XNUMXs for security reasons, after his father witnessed a robbery by the Red Brigades. Jack spent his childhood in Great Britain, but returned every summer to his beloved Portofino for the summer holidays: "There is no person who doesn't know me in that corner of Liguria, I spent some wonderful summers there and it will always be a special place for me."
How special was Carona, a town in which Savoretti he moved during his adolescence and where his family felt welcomed and embraced by all its citizens: «I have wonderful memories of that period, the people were really special, especially with my mother who spoke a foreign language and found herself alone after separating from my father. At the time I attended the Istituto Elvetico in Lugano, certainly an excellent school, but since I had never been a properly academic boy... it didn't work very well. Then we discovered the American School in Montagnola, and for me it was a turning point: they accepted my creativity, my artistic streak, and I was able to focus more on my strong points. I will always be grateful to TASIS for letting me exploit my potential, not forcing me to follow a path that would not have been mine». And so began his artistic journey, a crescendo of successes that is truly impossible not to know and appreciate.
With nine albums under your belt and dozens of songs recorded, is there a single you're most attached to?
"It's hard to say. I'd probably tell you a title and change my mind in five minutes. But if you ask me about my latest album, the song that touches me the most is How can I tell, and it is also the song that is the catalyst for all my latest work, for the search for my Italianness, for the meaning that Italy has for me, for what I miss about the Bel Paese. After the loss of my father, I felt the strong need to find a new identity for my Italian side, and it is precisely for this reason that I embarked on the adventure of studying and knowing its culture in greater depth in order to write my first album in the Italian language, which is that of my father».
Jack has been writing, composing and singing for years, but he is keen to point out that each of his creations is the result of teamwork with other people, it would be impossible to do everything alone. And in these countless collaborations we find mind-blowing names like Kylie Minogue, James Blunt, Bob Dylan, Shania Twain, Elisa, to get to Natalie Imbruglia and Zucchero (but believe me, the list is much longer).
How do these duets come about?
"They are totally random, sometimes the artists in question are friends of mine, and one thing leads to another. For example, Natalie Imbruglia is a friend of mine and a neighbor, and she has Sicilian origins. When she found out that I was creating my first album in Italian, she told me that she too would have liked to sing a song in the language of her ancestors. So, very spontaneously, I said to her "Let's do it together!", and just as spontaneously she accepted. With Zucchero, however, it was different, I met him by interviewing him for the BBC, then he contacted me to participate in one of his tours and sing a song with him, and I asked him if I could record it and include it in my album. He approved, and so we sang one of his historic songs together, Senza una donna. It was just crazy."
Honestly, I can only agree with him, the duet with Fornaciari is goosebump-inducing and really seems to perfectly reunite two pieces of the puzzle of Jack's life, his Italian soul combined with his British path: «Totally. It's rare that in my life all the dots connect in such a sensible way, it amazed me too how perfect it all was: even though I lived in England, I grew up with this song, and 30 years later in the first Italian album I had the honor of singing it with Zucchero, it was really cool (can you say cool?)».
Savoretti's family has an incredible story, which speaks of politics, art and, like many Italians, immigration.
How has this background influenced your creations?
"Everything has an impact. I've never had the stability of a home, I've had a messy life, and so I'm always looking for a certain stability, with the need to create something that in the moment gives me a sense of control, the feeling of having my life in my hands."
Having lived in various places can give the sensation of feeling at home everywhere, and at the same time a stranger everywhere, especially when having to deal with different languages.
IWhat language do you think?
"I think in English, but lately having written the album in Italian, I dream in Italian. So, if I had to answer you precisely, I think 80% English 20% Italian."
For years you have composed in English, while your latest creation is in Italian: what differences do you find?
"Italian is more poetic, very emotional, while in English the emotion is more direct, less fabulous. Basically it reflects the culture: in England people are more direct, Italian is more poetic, even in drama or sadness there is aesthetics, there is wonder. And I learned this by writing: language is essentially culture. It seems obvious, but only by composing in Italian (which is not my mother tongue), I realized that there are ways of saying things that change over the years and with the culture of the moment, for example there are things that 40 years ago were romantic and now are ridiculous, or vice versa."
And still remaining on the peninsula, it is impossible not to remember the wonderful performance of Jack Savoretti who, as a guest, together with Diodato enchanted the prestigious stage of Sanremo giving us a moment of pure poetry.
We would love to see you at the Ariston as a competitor, what do you think?
"I don't know (laughs). I'm very grateful to have been a guest at Sanremo, the stage is fabulous, the Ariston is a spectacle. But I think competitive music bothers me a little. Competition in general bothers me. That's why I devoted myself to music and didn't continue with sports."
Were you an athlete?
«Yes, I played football, I even made my debut with FC Lugano. A short break before dedicating myself completely to my greatest passion».
Her participation in Sanremo will perhaps remain an illusion of ours, but the stage of the Teatro la Fenice in Venice, that was definitely real: «I still pinch myself now, because I can't believe it really happened. La Fenice in Venice is perhaps the most beautiful opera house in the world together with La Scala in Milan, and I played there together with Kylie Minogue: it was 2018 and it was incredible. I confess that the only work photo I have at home represents that evening».
In addition to his career as an artist (and we can say it without hesitation: successful), Jack also has a beautiful wife and three children.
What kind of father are you, more Nordic or more Italian?
"You should ask them (laughs). But yes, I'm becoming more and more Italian. In fact, I'll tell you more, I had my first inkling of Italianness with my firstborn. My wife is very English, and I was amazed at how we immediately disagreed on small issues, for example when it was cold outside I insisted on putting her in a sweater, while my wife replied saying not to put it on because the fresh air is good for you. In those moments I realized how much my grandparents and my father, with their origins and the education they gave me, actually influenced me in my being a father too."
Jack Savoretti amazes with how much spontaneity and sincerity he manages to infuse with his words. And to tell the truth, that is exactly what he transmits to us, divinely, also with his music.
