{{Short description|Italian jazz musician (1945–2025)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2025}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = James Senese | image = James Senese 006.jpg | caption = Senese in 2010 | birth_name = Gaetano Senese | birth_date = {{Birth date|1945|1|6|df=y}} | birth_place = Naples, Italy | death_date = {{Death date and age|2025|10|29|1945|1|6|df=y}} | death_place = Naples, Italy | genre = Jazz | occupation = Musician | instrument = Saxophone | years_active = | label = | website = }}
'''Gaetano''' "'''James'''" '''Senese''' (6 January 1945 – 29 October 2025) was an Italian saxophonist, composer and singer-songwriter.
==Life and career == Senese was born in Naples, the son of Anna Senese and James Smith, an American soldier from North Carolina in Italy because of World War II.<ref name="la rep">{{cite news|last1=Livio Quagliata|title=James Senese, "O' sanghe" di un nero a metà|url=http://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli/musica/2016/05/01/news/james_senese-138129761/|accessdate=10 June 2016|work=La Repubblica|date=1 May 2016}}</ref><ref name="curcio"/> Senese's father moved back to the US eighteen months after Gaetano's birth and never returned.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cinquantamila.it/storyTellerThread.php?threadId=SENESE%20James |title=Biografia di James Senese |website=Cinquantamila.it |access-date=November 2, 2022}}</ref> Senese started playing the saxophone at 12 years old.<ref name="la rep"/> He made his professional debut in the 1960s, as a member of the rhythm and blues band {{Interlanguage link multi|The Showmen (Italian band)|it|3=The Showmen|lt=The Showmen}} (later known as Showmen 2), with whom he won the 1968 edition of Cantagiro.<ref name="la rep"/><ref name="curcio">Enzo Giannelli. "Senese, James". Gino Castaldo (ed.). ''Dizionario della canzone italiana''. Curcio Editore, 1990.</ref>
In 1974 Senese co-founded and led the jazz-progressive rock group {{Interlanguage link multi|Napoli Centrale (band)|it|3=Napoli Centrale|lt=Napoli Centrale}}. After the group disbanded in 1978, he started a long collaboration with Pino Daniele, both in studio and on stage.<ref name="la rep"/><ref name="curcio"/> During his career, he also collaborated with James Brown, Ornette Coleman, Gil Evans, Art Ensemble of Chicago and Roberto De Simone.<ref name="dea">{{cite news |last1=Aymone |first1=Carmine |title=È morto James Senese, il sax che parlava napoletano, «nero a metà» per eccellenza |url=https://www.corriere.it/spettacoli/25_ottobre_29/morto-james-senese-5f5fac32-546d-4cfe-a1ca-211aef788xlk.shtml |access-date=29 October 2025 |work=Corriere della Sera |date=29 October 2025 |language=it-IT}}</ref> His first solo album was released in 1983 by Polydor Records.<ref name="la rep"/><ref name="curcio"/>
A documentary film about Senese, ''James'', was directed in 2020 by Andrea Della Monica and premiered at the 77th edition of the Venice Film Festival.<ref>{{cite news |title=«James» Senese fa ripartire AstraDoc |url=https://napoli.corriere.it/notizie/cultura-e-tempo-libero/21_dicembre_16/james-senese-fa-ripartire-astradoc-cee27176-5e88-11ec-a151-bb76a32885ac.shtml |access-date=11 March 2023 |work=Corriere della Sera |date=16 December 2021 |language=it-IT}}</ref>
Senese died of pneumonia at Cardarelli Hospital in Naples, on 29 October 2025, at the age of 80. He had been hospitalised since 24 September.<ref name="dea" />
[[Image:James Senese (foto Augusto De Luca).jpg|thumb|right|260px|Jamese Senese in 2017, photographed by Augusto De Luca]]
==Discography== * ''James Senese'' (Polydor, 1983) * ''Il passo del gigante'' (Tobacco, 1984) * ''Alhambra'' (EMI Italiana, 1988) * ''Hey James'' (Blue Angel, 1991) * ''Sabato Santo'' (Polosud, 2000) * ''Passpartù'' (ITWHY, 2003) * ''Tribù e passione'' (with Enzo Gragnaniello) (Edel Italia, 2003) * ''E' Fernut' 'o Tiempo'' (Arealive, 2012) * ''O sanghe'' (Alabianca/Warner, 2016) * ''Chest nun é a terra mia'' - (Arealive, 2025)
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=mn0001779201|label=James Senese}} * {{discogs artist|James Senese}} * {{IMDb name|0784214}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Senese, James}} Category:1945 births Category:2025 deaths Category:Musicians from Naples Category:Italian male saxophonists Category:Italian male singer-songwriters Category:20th-century Italian singer-songwriters Category:21st-century Italian singer-songwriters Category:Italian male jazz musicians Category:Italian people of African-American descent Category:20th-century Italian saxophonists Category:21st-century Italian saxophonists Category:21st-century Italian male singers Category:20th-century Italian male singers Category:Deaths from pneumonia in Campania