Naples – James Senese, Neapolitan saxophone legend and founder of Napoli Centrale, passed away in the early hours of Wednesday, October 29. The 79-year-old artist had been hospitalized for over a month in the intensive care unit of Cardarelli Hospital after suffering a severe respiratory crisis.
The strategic management of Cardarelli Hospital and the entire medical staff expressed their deepest condolences for the passing of the musician. "This is a grave loss for the entire community," said General Manager Antonio D'Amore. "I wish to convey the hospital's condolences to the family in this time of great pain and fragility."
Senese arrived at the Cardarelli emergency room on September 24th, and since then his condition had appeared very critical. "Despite his extremely complex clinical condition," a hospital statement reads, "doctors made every effort to ensure the best possible care and manage the lung infection and other conditions he was suffering from. After 35 days of hospitalization, his heart stopped due to cardiac arrest."
With his death, Naples loses one of the most authentic and profound faces of its musical identity, capable of fusing African-American jazz with the sounds of the Mediterranean, the anger of the people with the poetry of the city.
The funeral in Miano, in the neighborhood of a lifetime
James Senese's funeral will be held tomorrow, Thursday, October 30, at 12:00 p.m., in the parish of Santa Maria dell'Arco, at Piazza Madonna dell'Arco 8, in Miano, the neighborhood where the artist grew up and lived his entire life.
A symbolic location, chosen not by chance, because it represents James's roots: the popular streets, the common people, the beating heart of that Naples he has always depicted in his songs, with the sax that "weeps" and sings at the same time.
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Hundreds of fans, friends, colleagues, and ordinary citizens are expected to pay their respects to a man who made music an instrument of freedom and truth. "James belonged to everyone," neighborhood residents say. "When he played, he seemed to speak to each and every one of us."
Nino D'Angelo: "James was the Miles Davis of Naples."
Among the many messages of affection and grief, one was touching, one from Nino D'Angelo, who remembered Senese as "a true genius."
“I've always admired his art, ever since his early days with Napoli Centrale,” D'Angelo says. “We first met in 2008, at Pino Daniele's concert in Piazza del Plebiscito, during the Superband reunion. Pino loved him, he always said, 'Stu James is strong.'”
In 2021, the two artists collaborated on the song "Vivere e' muri," from the album "Il poeta che non sa parlare." "I wanted a sax that cried," D'Angelo recalls, "and I immediately thought of him. I was almost embarrassed to ask, but James replied, 'What the heck, you idiot, it's a pleasure.' When he heard the song, he simply said, 'Mamma mia, beautiful.' He played with an intensity that brought us all to tears. He asked me only one thing: 'Don't cut a single note.' And so I did."
D'Angelo concludes with words of great admiration: “James can't be ranked; he's in a different league. He's a Neapolitan-American who plays the saxophone. His sound has a different, unique, inimitable soul. For me, he's the Miles Davis of Naples. Every note of his was a caress that touched your soul. I love you, James.”
Comments (1)
I am deeply saddened by the passing of James Senese. He was a great musician and did so much for Neapolitan music. I hope his family can find comfort in this difficult time and that his legacy lives on forever.