All Photos: Alan Mercer
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Gino Vannelli is one of three sons, including Joe and Ross, born to Russ and Delia Vannelli. Russ, his father, was a big band musician. As a child, Gino's greatest passion was music, and he began playing percussion at an early age. By the age of 15, Gino began writing songs. Just out of high school, he signed his first recording contract with RCA under the pseudonym Vann Elli, but went on to study music at McGill University.
After a stint in New York City, Gino and his brothers went to Los Angeles in a financially distraught and desperate state to wait outside trumpeter Herb Alpert's locked gate for an audition. Alpert was Vannelli's last hope prior to heading back to Montreal the next day. Alpert liked what he heard and two days later signed Vannelli with A&M Records, releasing his first album, ‘Crazy Life’ in 1973. Gino's brother, Joe, served as arranger and keyboardist for most of his recording career. At a time when polyphonic synthesizers were non-existent, Joe overdubbed multiple parts to create a texture of sound that was progressive for the early 1970’s.
In 1974, "People Gotta Move" made it to No. 22 on the Billboard Top 100. On February 15, 1975, Gino Vannelli became the second Caucasian performer to appear on Soul Train. This was his television debut. With his records climbing the charts, Gino toured as the opening act for Stevie Wonder. In 1978, the song "I Just Wanna Stop" earned Gino an American Grammy Award nomination and was a number No. 1 single in Canada and #4 in United States. Gino's album ‘Brother to Brother’ was certified platinum in early 1979. Gino won Canada's Juno Award for Best Male Artist. He also won Juno Awards in 1976 and 1979. His additional recordings of the 1970s include: "Crazy Life,""Powerful People,""Storm at Sunup,""The Gist of the Gemini," and "A Pauper in Paradise".
In April 1981, "Living Inside Myself" was on Billboard's Top 100 at number 6. The Vannelli brothers shared the Juno Award for Recording Engineer of the Year in 1986 for ‘Black Cars.’ The Juno Award for Recording Engineer of the Year was again shared by the Vannelli brothers in 1987 for ‘Wild Horses’ and ‘Young Lover.’ Gino's additional recordings of the 1980s era include ‘Nightwalker’ and ‘Big Dreamers Never Sleep.’ During this time, he married Patricia, with whom he would have a son, Anton.
In 1990, the album ‘Inconsolable Man’ delivered new releases by Gino Vannelli to excellent reviews. In 1991, the Vannelli brothers shared the Juno Award once again, for ‘The Time of Day’ and ‘Sunset on L.A.,’ both from the ‘Inconsolable Man’ CD. On Gino's next CD release, ‘Yonder Tree,’ he pays homage to his roots in jazz, apparent on his earlier albums. ‘On Yonder Tree,’ Gino sings a musical tribute to the renowned poet, author and humanitarian Walt Whitman, in ‘Walter Whitman, Where Are You?
The latest recordings released by Gino Vannelli are ‘Canto’ and ‘These Are the Days.’ He surprised the music world by revealing his operatic license in ‘Canto,’ which heralds his superlative vocals in Italian, French, Spanish and English. Gino was commissioned by the Vatican to perform for Pope John Paul II. On the ‘Canto’ recording is a loving tribute to Gino's father titled, ‘Parole Per Mio Padre,’ which was also a favorite of Pope John Paul II. Gino Vannelli's electrifying vocals and music garnered rave reviews for ‘Canto.’
Gino Vannelli lives and works in Amersfoort, Netherlands and in the United States. His music is also heard on popular European television and radio commercials. When not in concert, Gino is actively working on various projects and teaching Master classes.
In March 2007, Gino performed in Las Vegas to sold-out shows. By request, encore performances were given two months later at the Flamingo Showroom. In November 2007, Gino gave three sold out performances in New Orleans, Louisiana. The concerts were a humanitarian effort with proceeds benefiting local charities. By popular demand, Gino Vannelli continues to tour globally.
On May 13, 2014, Gino Vannelli's the "Live in LA" CD/DVD compilation was released by the Sono Recording Group. The presentation was recorded live onstage at the historic Saban Theater in Los Angeles, California on November 8, 2013, which represented Gino’s first performance in Los Angeles in more than 15 years. The recording also marks the first on-stage collaboration in many years between the three Vannelli brothers.
AM: Gino, what a GREAT show you did in Dallas!
GV: Oh thanks, it was really fun.
AM: How do you keep spiritually centered while traveling around the world?
GV: To me spirituality is communing with the part of you that is not typically a common place, known to you on an everyday basis.
AM: Is it a feeling you have?
GV: It’s a sense, but not a sixth sense, because it’s relegated to this plane. It’s something called potential and you commune with that potential.
AM: Can you give me an example?
GV: It’s like an empty canvas and that canvas can be anything. The spiritual act can be in the form of a prayer. You can humble yourself and get on your knees. Physically speaking when you do get on your knees you are praying. You can pray to a cloud, or a star or the moon or the sun. It really is simple. The truth is what you are really doing is communing with the inner reaches of yourself.
AM: I believe the same way.
GV: When you tap into that, you find the power, the direction, the patience, the faith and the determination, to get where you want to get. Anybody who is being truthful in any way, whether it be an artist, a contractor, an architect, a painter or whatever, they know how to commune with that part of themselves that brings the best out in themselves, in their own way. Some may consider it spiritual and others may even consider it barbaric or crass, but they do it.
AM: It seems one needs a high intelligence just to understand the simplicity.
GV: That’s because the simplicity is in ‘how you do it.’ There is no simplicity in the inner reaches of space. Given a blank canvas, most people wouldn’t know where to start. The simplicity is saying this is what I will do and I will do it every day. This is all Eastern philosophy.
AM: Those lessons have been around forever.
GV: There is a reason why that tradition has been passed down for centuries. It’s all about repeat, repeat, repeat. There are beats to it. They say, “May I be healthy in mind and body.’ Then another beat, then repeat, “May I be healthy in mind and body.” The act of repetition is like the juggler who is practicing and saying ,”I’ll get it next time.” The act of repetition makes it sink in a little bit deeper each time. This simple act of repetition will create the reality you are looking for.
AM: That is brilliant. Do you meditate?
GV: Everyone does some form of meditation. When I’m out playing with my puppies, that is a form of meditation because we commune. I anticipate what they will do next and they anticipate what I will do next and then when we finish playing I hold them in my arms and we just look at each other. They are also children of the great mind. What can you say about joy?
AM: How do you keep the dark side of the music business from affecting you?
GV: You don’t open the floodgates and say this is daunting. You know it’s going to be a long, tough haul so you look at it in steps. Lau Tzu wrote this book 2500 years ago that is a small companion book of Chinese philosophy. It’s very prophetic.
AM: Yes, I am familiar with Lau Tzu.
GV: He says to think of the small as big and the big as small. So I look at big tasks as small baby steps. Step one would be to have my piano tuned and ready to go and then what songs I want to perform. It’s a step by step approach. When you look at things that way, you tend to want to do them. You don’t want to open up iTunes and see ten thousand new albums, what chance do I have? Don’t look at it that way. So I forget the other people and I ask myself what do I have that’s worth hearing.
AM: Are you singing your favorite songs in concert these days?
GV: I do have favorites but you can’t get them all in one show. I have over 200 songs.
AM: I really like your ‘Canto’ album.
GV: It’s a nice album. I’m very proud of it.
AM: Are you touring around the world right now?
GV: I am constantly on tour. I make sure we don’t over tour. We don’t want any boredom or dullness in the audience or the musicians. It’s always a bit of a honeymoon when you don’t see each other for two or three weeks and then you do a show and it’s nice to be with everyone again. October is a busy month.
AM: So you are still working and have no intention of retiring anytime soon.
GV: No not for a few more years. I’m working on another record. Hopefully it will be ready in the next six months. I spend a lot of time writing poetry. I want to write a poetry book. I have a lot on my mind as far as that’s concerned. I’ve always been a fan of poetry and I try to turn them into songs. Most of the ‘A Good Thing’ album was poetry turned into songs.
AM: You are certainly a deep thinker.
GV: Well I am a man who is in the last part of his days and I know everything is inside us. It’s not out in the eithers. We get the ball rolling with what we think we are. Those who are hopeful in a positive way tend to do better because they draw that energy to themselves.
AM: I agree with that!
GV: My son is a deep thinker too. He has a degree in philosophy. He asked me what was the difference between karma and a random act? I told him some things are random because the wind can blow and you get a brick in the head, but if you react in a certain way, you will create a pattern. If you react in another way, the pattern will be stopped and it will just be a random event. The artists who survive create a pattern of who they think they are. It ends up being a little bit of a spiritual quest because you start with what is not known and you create a reality from it.
To learn more about Gino Vannelli visit his web site http://www.ginov.com/