California music accessories brand Gruv Gear is proud to feature Guitarist Luca Mantovanelli. Luca is part of a family of prominent world-class musicians that heartily endorse Gruv Gear products.
Luca Mantovanelli was born in 1983 in Caserta, Italy, into a musicial family. From a young age he showed a natural talent for music. He started learning drums, bass and wind instruments, then completely dedicated himself to the electric guitar. At first self-taught, he furthered his studies with Adriano Guarino and Marco Sfogli (James Labrie), also studying classical guitar with the Maestro Antonio De Innocentis.
Luca absorbed influences from all styles, and some of his biggest inspirations were Bireli Lagrène, Pat Martino, Robben Ford, Frank Gambale, Eddie Van Halen, Michael Brecker, Oscar Peterson, and Gary Burton. His natural versatility in a variety of musical styles allowed him to play in many area jazz, pop, blues and rock bands. When he joined the 900 Big Band, he opened the door to jazz festival performances and a collaboration with Jenny B and Katia Ricciarelli.
Luca plays classic Neapolitan songs with the “Bentornato Mandolino” orchestra (directed by his father Franco), and also has an acoustic duo with the singer Cristina Z, playing acoustic guitar and looping.
In 2011 he played at the FB Jazz festival in San Giovanni Teatino with the dream of Butterfly, an acoustic trio with Emanuela Di Lullo (voice) and Riccardo Damiani (bass), on a bill with international artists such as Mike Stern, Jeff Berlin, Maurizio Rolli, Paolo Giordano, Nguyen Le, Bob Sheppard, Linley Marthe and more.
In 2012 He has recorded on a new project featuring also the great Allen Hinds on guitars.
About Gruv Gear:
Gruv Gear exists to bring innovative and well-thought out products to creative professionals and beyond, including career musicians, DJs, photographers, filmmakers, mobile producers and more. The company is on- track not only to become a premium lifestyle accessories brand in the Music/DJ and Photo Industries, which is a small fraction of its potential market, but also expand to a broader range of industries that will increase its global footprint exponentially. To date, Gruv Gear products are sold in 5 continents and shipped directly to adoring fans worldwide.