The Napoli Sessions

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The Napoli Sessions

A group of talented musicians, photographers, and filmmakers translates the story of Naples into sound and imagery.

BIO

‘Ah, there is no city that gives off so much noise and such a clamor as Naples.’ Elena Ferrante

After journeys through fascinating cities like Mexico City, Ramallah, Tehran, and Johannesburg, musician Thomas Noël now arrives in Naples with The City's Song. For this latest episode, he focuses on musicians rooted in the Neapolitan traditional culture, as well as contemporary jazz musicians and those shaping the city's identity in a modern version.

The City’s Song – The Napoli Sessions is a versatile and layered project that brings together elements of music, imagery, sound, tradition, and contemporary themes. It explores the intersections between folk music and jazz and is built around six central themes: La Morte (Death), La Madonna (Woman), Il Mare (Sea), La Terra (Earth), Il Fuoco (Fire), and Il Sogno (Dream). The result is a cinematic concert that seeks to capture Naples in both sound and image.

Composers

Thomas collaborates with Emiliano Della Giovanna, a jazz drummer who grew up in Naples and now resides in Ghent. Emiliano is deeply familiar with both the Neapolitan and Flemish scenes, effectively forming a link between Ghent and Naples. This collaboration grew into a larger collective of musicians and artists from both Flanders and Naples, who together create a cinematic concert. In this performance, the city is reflected, and the diverse musical backgrounds of the respective musicians fuse into a new sound.

Thomas began his research in Naples at the end of 2023 and met flutist and singer Mimmo Magniolico. Together with Emiliano and Mimmo's creative partner, guitarist Roberto Trenca, they initiated a creative process. The collective is further complemented by bassist Marta Ricardi and singer/percussionist Carmine D’Aniello from Naples, as well as violinist Wouter Vandenabeele from Ghent. The visual component is handled by photographers Sammy Van Cauteren and Silvio Siciliano, and filmmaker Firas Al Halak.

photos © Sammy Van Cauteren

agenda

July 2025

Jul 05

05 July

The Napoli Sessions

Brosella, Ossegempark
Brussel, 1000 Belgium

Jul 06

06 July

The Napoli Sessions

PARK festival, Abdij van Park
Leuven, Belgium

November 2025

Nov 21

21 November

The Napoli Sessions

CC Westrand, Dilbeek,

Nov 26

26 November

The Napoli Sessions

CC Bolwerk Vilvoorde, CC Bolwerk Vilvoorde
Vilvoorde, Belgium

Nov 28

28 November

The Napoli Sessions

C Mine, C-Mine 10
Genk, 3600 Belgium

Nov 29

29 November

The Napoli Sessions

HA concerts, Kouter 29
Gent, 9000

May 2026

May 22

22 May

The Napoli Sessions

CC Sint-Niklaas, Zwijgershoek 14
Sint-Niklaas, 9100 Belgium

videos

Video Playlist

1 Video's

The Napoli Sessions

The Napoli Sessions

Book Agenda