Beppe Gambetta (born 1955) is a flatpicking guitarist, singer, and composer from Genoa, Italy. He founded the Italian bluegrass band Red Wine in 1977 and has released more than fifteen albums since 1989. He blends American flatpicking with the music of his home city. He divides his time between Genoa and New Jersey.
Why Gambetta matters
Gambetta showed that flatpicking is not tied to one country. He learned the American style from records, then folded in Italian melody, tremolo, and crosspicking to make something new. He also carried bluegrass back to Europe as a teacher and organizer. For a jammer, his playing is a lesson in slow technique: how to make a plain melody sound full on one guitar.
Life and career
Gambetta was born in Genoa in 1955. He had classical training before he heard bluegrass. In 1977 he founded Red Wine, one of Italy’s first bluegrass bands. He wrote the first Italian instruction book on flatpicking.
His solo recording career began with Dialogs in 1989. He recorded Alone and Together with banjo player Tony Trischka in 1991, then Good News from Home for Green Linnet in 1995. David Grisman co-produced Serenata (1997) and Traversata (Acoustic Disc, 2001), a record of Italian immigrant music. He also cut Synergia, a guitar duet album with Dan Crary.
Later records came out on Gadfly, Borealis, and Egea. They include Slade Stomp (2006), Rendez-vous (2008), The American Album (2013), Round Trip (2015), Short Stories (2017), Where the Wind Blows (2020), and Terra Madre (2024). He runs Acoustic Nights, a yearly themed concert at the Teatro Nazionale in Genoa that reached its 25th edition in 2024. He also organizes the New Jersey Guitar Summit, a teaching event. He continues to tour and was booked for the Walnut Valley Festival in 2026.
Playing style
Gambetta calls his sound a triangulation of Norman Blake, Doc Watson, and Django Reinhardt. He puts expression ahead of speed. He has spent years on what he calls slow techniques: tremolo, partial strums, crosspicking, and crosspicking split across separate strings. These let one guitar carry melody, harmony, and rhythm at once. Reviewers describe the result as an orchestral take on the guitar.
He also plays fingerstyle, and he owns a 14-string harp guitar built by the Italian luthier Antonello Saccu. His tone is clean and his attack is precise. Italian melody shapes his phrasing. He says his study of old Italian music and his love of melody sit under everything he plays.
Influences and legacy
Doc Watson is his first influence, the player he says changed his artistic life. Norman Blake, Dan Crary, Tony Rice, and Clarence White came next. He has recorded or performed with David Grisman, Gene Parsons, Doc Watson, Norman Blake, Dan Crary, Tony McManus, Don Ross, Tony Trischka, Alan Munde, Carlo Aonzo, Rushad Eggleston, Tim O’Brien, and Travis Book. He teaches at camps in the United States and Europe and has mentored younger players like Cameron Knowler.
Signature tunes and songs
Slade Stomp Madame Guitar Valzer per un amore Blu di Genova.
Essential recordings
Good News from Home (Green Linnet, 1995) Serenata (Acoustic Music, 1997) Traversata (Acoustic Disc, 2001) Slade Stomp (Gadfly, 2006) Terra Madre (Egea, 2024)
Awards and honors
Paolo Nuti award, Folkitalia, for excellence in Italian folk music
Watch and listen
Gambetta plays a solo set for Dream Guitars. Watch how his right hand mixes single notes, tremolo, and partial strums.
Gambetta plays and sings Madame Guitar at Carter Vintage Guitars.
What to learn from Gambetta
Learn Slade Stomp from his 2006 record. It is a flatpicked instrumental with a steady drive, and it is the title track of one of his best known records. The technique to steal is crosspicking with the melody split across strings. Take a slow waltz you know, play the melody, then fill the space between melody notes with a light pattern on the strings above and below. Keep the pick moving the whole time. That is how Gambetta makes one guitar sound like three.
Sources
A True Original, Italian Guitarist Beppe Gambetta is a Bluegrass Innovator, The Bluegrass Situation Beppe Gambetta, Wikipedia Discography, Beppe Gambetta Beppe Gambetta, official site Gambetta, Beppe, BluegrassBios.com
Related players
See the guitar players hub and the guitar guide for more flatpickers. Gambetta learned from Doc Watson and Norman Blake and recorded a duet album with Dan Crary. Tony Rice and Clarence White shaped his early listening.