After two decades international performances from bases in Paris, Casablanca, and New York, pianist and composer Giuseppe De Gregorio returns to his hometown of Rome with Interrogations and Investigations—his first trio album in over ten years.

What began as an impromptu session between old friends quickly unfolded into something more lasting: a deeply personal recording shaped by grief, reconnection, and a desire to rediscover his musical roots.

Blending lyrical originals with nods to blues, post-bop, chanson française, and even Moroccan textures, the record captures a broad emotional and stylistic range while staying grounded in the classic piano trio format.

We spoke with De Gregorio about the spontaneity behind the session, the influence of place and loss, and what it means to approach jazz not with answers, but with questions.

Homecoming and Roots

Your latest album, Interrogations and Investigations, marks a return to Rome after years of performing in cities across three continents. How did this homecoming influence the music and the recording process?

Most of the time, the only place where I truly feel at home is Music, particularly because of its ability to provide spiritual nurturing and shelter through a feeling of hope and consolation. I left my physical birthplace over twenty years ago despite the fact that I would come back to visit my mother as often as I could. Yet, coming back to Rome this particular time, felt like a very unique experience: an unexpected musical gift was waiting for me. Through the music we shared and then decided to record, the trio reunion with Francesco Pierotti and Nicola Angelucci felt like a balm that helped me tremendously to channel, process and further heal from the loss of my mother, which abruptly hit me in the summer of 2022.

Spontaneity in Creation

The album began as a spontaneous reunion between friends. Can you share more about that initial session and how it evolved into a full album? 

Among the Jazz community, we often hear the adagio:”Jazz is a language”. As a fluent speaker in four languages I always argue that any idiom needs to find its purpose in being exercised daily as a communicational tool. That’s basically what motivated Francesco, Nicola and I to get together in the first place: to have a musical conversation, speak to each other and share musical ideas. Now, what happened next is that our conversation got so interesting that we felt compelled to capture it through a professional recording that could stand eternity. Interestingly enough, the deal was sealed at Nuccia Music Studio, literally located at the heart of the eternal city.

Emotional Landscape

Themes of grief and friendship are central to the album. How did these emotions shape the compositions and the overall sound of the trio?

As Heinrich Heine acutely said:“Where words leave off, music begins.” Grief is definitely a heart-crushing feeling that can be processed more effectively if channeled through sound rather than through words. “Good bye” and “Lonely heart” in particular, two original compositions, as well as “Prism” by Keith Jarrett, allowed me to engage in lyrical long melodic lines which helped me to transition from an emotional state of grief to one of hope; another key ally in this healing trio session has been the Blues element present in “Blues for Monk” as well “Blues Italiano” also two original compositions. As Wynton Marsalis impeccably said, the essence of the Blues is found in the courage of transcending the tragic events that we’re confronted with in life, through a musical and emotional catharsis. 

Cultural Influences

Having lived in The Netherlands, Spain, France, Sweden, Morocco and The USA, how have these cultures influenced your musical style and the compositions on this album?

All these cultural experiences and different sonic landscapes have contributed to forge an inner rich melting-pot that inhabits my subconscious, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually and of course sonically. As it is for all artists, my subconscious is indeed the well I draw my inspiration from. It is quite difficult to identify separately the sum of the influences that I have absorbed through 15 years of touring-living abroad; my inner digestive system has decomposed all of them to the point where they fuse and morph into something else. Yet, I can at least point out two of those major influences: Morocco has forged my relationship with The Blues by exposing me to its African ancestor, the Gnawa music, whose sonic tradition is rooted in groovy bass lines, minor pentatonics and a powerful hypnotic 6/8 feel. By contrast, Sweden has forged in me the awareness of how game changer can be, in music, the adoption of space, to the point that space has become a building block in my personal compositional and improvisational style. 

Jazz as a Question

You mention that ‘Jazz is a question mark.’ Could you elaborate on what this means to you and how it reflects in your music? 

The way I look at Jazz is as the fusion of three main traditions, three deep roots that about a hundred years ago inextricably intertwined on the American soil. On a rhythmic stand point, the first root is represented by the African polyrhythms tradition; on a melodic standpoint, the second root is embodied by the American Blues-Spiritual tradition; on a rather harmonic standpoint, the third root is represented by Classical Music tradition. Given how these three roots interact with each other, in a lively dance, through Jazz creations, I like to picture them also in the form of the Christian Holy Trinity. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all constantly at work in the form of an equal partnership. Like the Holy Trinity is constantly giving birth to a fresh co-creation, these three main roots in Jazz keep fusing, giving birth to an infinite outpour of musical possibilities. That’s why, the future of Jazz to me looks like a constant question mark. It is the creative act of relentlessly interrogating Jazz’s full potential, the one that is yet to be fully realized (and never will). That’s why Wayne Shorter would recommend: “be ready to embrace the unknown!”. Both this awareness and readiness are pillars of my daily lifestyle and mindset as a Jazz creator. This reflects in my musical practice in the following form: I become an antenna, listening to the silence, searching for sounds that haven’t been released yet. Then I try to capture them in my next musical statement.

Collaborative Dynamics

The trio features Nicola Angelucci on drums and Francesco Pierotti on bass. How did their contributions shape the sound and direction of the album?

Jazz is the art of playing with others and therefore requires developing a peculiar type of listening: one that is able to simultaneously perceive what’s happening on the multiple levels of the musical creative process, while this is unfolding. Such a fine perception, when achieved, can generate a form of peculiar contrapuntal dialogue between improvisers which is completely unique to Jazz, known as interplay. In such instances, Nicola and Francesco are two exceptional players. Their fluency in the Jazz idiom is rooted in a genuine, passionate love for the Swing-Bebop tradition. That’s the musical foundation that allows the three of us to effortlessly connect and understand each other in the fraction of a second; to the point where our interplay becomes a telepathic communication. We can easily anticipate where our music wants to go at all times and this allows for an ongoing exciting and rich musical conversation, in which we explore a subtle balance of opposites, playing with and “against” each other. The top-notch quality of their listening skills, focus, musical intuition, improvisational skills, the beauty of their individual sound and tone production, the clarity of their inner pulse, inspire my improvisations and fuel my creativity at every moment.

Balancing Tradition and Innovation

Interrogations and Investigations blends traditional jazz elements with modern textures. How do you balance honoring jazz traditions while pushing musical boundaries?

I consider that the germ of future innovation is always contained in the seed of its origins.

To answer your question, I’d like to use the metaphor of a healthy tree. In order for a tree to have long branches that stretch way far off the trunk while bearing abundant fruit, its roots must go deep into the ground to properly absorb its nutrients. I compare myself to a healthy tree, meaning that I have the responsibility of a two-part daily task: on one hand, I need to stay firmly connected to the roots of Jazz, finding, within that rootedness, the nutrients (inspiration) that are vital to fuel my personal artistic vision and unique voice; on another hand, I also must cultivate the courage to expand my artistic personality and individual freedom so that I might be able to branch out from those roots and deliver my original contribution to this Legacy through a unique perspective.

Personal Milestones

This album is your fifth as a leader. Looking back, how has your approach to composition and performance evolved over the years?

As a classically trained composer, my initial exploration of the Jazz canons has thrived particularly through spontaneous improvisations, greatly inspired by Keith Jarret, and a strong compositional focus, which led me to the creation of a prolific catalogue of original pieces. Initially, I felt compelled to establish my unique sound, mostly gravitating around Classical Music with incursions in the groovy territories of Gospel, Funk and R&B. With time, my appreciation for the Jazz sounds rooted in the Bebop and Blues traditions has grown exponentially, compelling me to bridge Classical Music compositional techniques (particularly the one identified as “theme and variations”) with the Blues form and the Bebop style. This intent produced original works such as: “Anthropologies – 24 variations on Charlie Parker” feat. Greg Hutchinson and “For Blues’ Sake – a Jazz Suite of Developing Variations” feat. Ron Carter and Peter Erskine.

Future Projects

With the upcoming release featuring Ron Carter and Peter Erskine, how does that project differ from Interrogations and Investigations, and what can listeners expect?

“For Blues’ Sake – a Jazz Suite of Developing Variations” feat. Ron Carter and Peter Erskine, is the ambitious continuation of “Interrogations and Investigations” in terms of its intent to be an even deeper dive into the wonders and fresh possibilities of stretched and reinvented Blues forms. And that’s not all! My 13 original Blues variations are currently being arranged for the large Jazz ensemble (big band). Therefore, stay well tuned!

Message to Listeners

What do you hope listeners take away from Interrogations and Investigations? Is there a particular message or feeling you wish to convey?

That’s a great question. I pray that the palette of diverse emotional colors that I captured in this album may resonate in harmony with each and every moment of my listener’s personal journey in life, ultimately offering him-her-them a safe place where to find joy when it is time to celebrate, comfort and consolation when grief takes over, hope when it is time to leave behind ashes and move on, building a brighter future.