It took about a song and a half during Joachim Cooder’s sound check in Utrecht for me to notice, as I was setting up my gear to film his show later that night. That guitarist he had playing with him was one of the most inspiring guitarists I’ve seen live in a good while, and it turns out, one of the nicest and most modest as well. Adriano Viterbini, based in Rome, can do magic tricks on that instrument. So, there was absolutely no way I would let him go back to Italy without filming a session with him in Groningen two days later. Lucky for me and you, he did. With Joachim Cooder, he played his Tubi Innocenti and improvised a new tune, now called Groningen Jam.
“Playing with Joachim is an emotional visionary experience.”
Adriano Viterbini is a guitarist and recording artist based in Rome, mainly influenced by African music and avant-garde. He is best known as founding member of I Hate My Village and as a solo artist and session musician. Viterbini has performed live and in the studio with Jovanotti, Joachim Cooder, Bombino, Rokia Traoré, Nic Cester and JET.
So, plenty to discover, with many collaborations – which after witnessing this session, the session with Joachim Cooder (still to come) and Cooder’s show is no surprise. Who wouldn’t want such a collaborator? Personally, I fell in love with his 2025 solo album Fantasticazioni, pt. 1 and 2016’s Film |O| Sound, which features Bombino and others.
Asked about playing with Joachim Cooder, Viterbini replies: “Playing with Joachim is an emotional visionary experience. I feel the past, present and future at the same time in one note when I play with him. And he’s a really original artist and a fun person!”