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Gioele Pagliaccia

Human being, musician, multi instrumentalist, drummer, composer, educator and gardener. Plays with Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids, Will Bernard, Joe Lally and many others

About Me

Gioele Pagliaccia is a drummer and composer born in Marsciano (Perugia) but raised between Italy, Santo Domingo and the United States.

Thanks to his step-dad he started playing percussion at age eight, but quickly switched to drums and taught himself how to play by obsessively practicing over records by Primus, Fela Kuti and John Coltrane. Around that time he also taught himself how to play both the acoustic and electric guitars with wich he composes all kinds of music.

After spending six years between Oregon, New York and San Francisco, he moved to Rome and became part of the city's vibrant scene, playing with Pasquale Innarella, Henry Cook (Either Orchestra, Mulatu Astatke) and Manlio Maresca among others. At age 23 was asked to play with Fugazi’s bass player Joe Lally (also member of The Messthetics, Coriky and Ataxia along with John Frusciante and Josh Klinghoffer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers) with whom he still plays whenever possible.

Beside leading his own bands such as “IL DUO feat. Will Bernard” and the Eric Dolphy tribute “Aut To Lunch”, he is an accomplished session musician and toured Europe and recorded with legendary Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids on their last double LP, SHAMAN! on Strut Records.

He's been teaching the art of playing the drums to kids and adults for over 20 years both privately and in Schools. In more recent times he started incorporating into the programs various percussion instruments from around the world such as congas, bongos and frame drums like the indian Kanjira and the traditional Italian frame drums used for “Pizzica”, and “Tarantella”. In addition he conducts seminars for “found percussion” called TUTTO SUONA in which he teach the participants a series of rhythmic patterns to be played on objects from everyday life such as sinks, wine barrels, wood logs, wheel rims, pots, pans and more. This opens up a whole new sonic world and makes people aware that “incredible music can be made without spending a lot of money” therefore making his students environmentally responsible and empowered in all sorts of ways.

Gioele played in most major venues and festivals across Italy, U.S.A., France, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Dominican Republic, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland and Japan.

Throughout the years he had the fortune to record and/or perform with artists such as: Idris Ackmoor & The Pyramids, Danilo Gallo, Alfonso Santimone, Jack Yglesias, Federico Pierantoni, Filippo Vignato, Henry Cook, Piero Bittolo Bon, Joe Lally, Michael Rosen, Michele Polga, Roberto Raciti, Massimo Pupillo, Stefano Raffaelli, Scott Rosenberg, Will Bernard, Elli De Mon, Nick Garbett, Giordano Grossi, Eterea Post Bong Band, Rosa Brunello, Camilla Battaglia, Dave Scott Stone, Gianni Gebbia, Mikaele Pellegrino, Lo Strano Frutto, Giacomo Ancillotto, Hal Tsuchida, Walter Civettini, Mother Island, Giovanni Perin, Marco Trabucco, Claudio Mosconi, Alessandro Lanzoni, Paul Santner, Amy Denio, Andrea Pesce, Andrea Ruocco, Ettore Martin, Massimo Giangrande, Giulio Campagnolo, Wil Blades, Daniele Tittarelli, Gerhard Gschlößl, Johannes Fink, Naomi Jean, Justin Falk, Eyal Lovett, Kenneth Dahl Knudsen, Antonio Gallucci, Cristiano De Fabritiis, Fabio “Reeks” Recchia, Renato Ciunfrini, Pasquale Innarella, Tony Cattano, Fil Lorenz, Daniel Magay, Dj Økapi, Roberto Bordiga, Paolo Bacchetta, Federico Pozzer, Roberto Bellatalla, Manlio Maresca, Marco Quaresimin, Riccardo Marogna, Sergio Gonzo, Glauco Benedetti, Alessandro Fongaro, Luca Moresco.

He is a Bosphorus Cymbals endorser.

My Jazz Story

I love jazz because it gives me the freedom to improvise and to be creative. In my opinion thats what life is all about! I was first exposed to jazz through my step father when I was 8 years old and we would listen to John Coltranes version of My Favourite Things over and over again, plus Miles Davis "Tutu" and those had a huge impact on me. The best show I ever attended was probably Joe Loavano's US FIVE at Panic jazz Club in Marostica (Italy). Absolutely mind blowing! The first jazz record I bought was Eric Dolphy's "Out To Lunch" altought I listened to my step fathers "Monk plays Ellington" record and Fela Kuti's "Zombie" long before that. My advice to new listeners is keep your mind & ears open: it will pay off! Ciao. g.