With hundreds of thousands of followers on social networking site Instagram, Italian guitarist Giacomo Turra might seem like some kind of viral star. But the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, his work brilliantly combines inspiration from legendary guitarists with a modern approach. The result is dazzling music that pulls you in on first listen. What’s more, he’s just plain likeable.
“To say that Giacomo Turra knows what “groove” means would be an understatement. In fact, he embodies the word. Whether he’s playing Stevie Wonder, George Benson, Prince or his own improvised pieces, this Italian guitarist has his own way of making music”. These words were written by music writer Sophie McVinnie in Guitar Magazine. It pretty much sums up what’s going through the minds of Turra’s more than 740,000 Instagram followers every time he posts a new video.
Giacomo Turra was born in Milan in 1997. He started playing guitar at the age of 13, influenced by his father’s record collection. He jammed while listening to Stevie Wonder, George Benson and Herbie Hancock. In 2018 he started his musical project under the name JMT. Two years later, when the whole world was gripped by the Covid-19 pandemic, he started releasing videos on Instagram and got on the elevator to fame.
In July 2021, Giacomo released “The Groove Sessions”, a compilation of funk and R&B covers recorded with renowned musicians and singers from around the world. A second album is expected to be released this spring. It was recorded in the United States and you can already listen to the first single “Soul Speak”. Turra recently released his signature Supafunk guitar effect and a custom guitar pickup model from Mama Pickups. Last year he enchanted the Metro Music Bar in Brno, and now he will shine under the stars at the first open-air edition of the Groove Brno festival.
