E Street Band alum David Sancious' latest projects find him again making beautiful music with others
- Shawn Poole and Joe Amodei
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
February 4, 2026
For David Sancious, being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a former E Street Band keyboardist has been just a part - albeit a very significant part - of his highly respected, varied, and groundbreaking musical career that has spanned more than fifty years now. Collaboration has been a key throughline in Sancious' work as a multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, producer/arranger, and highly recognized and respected jazz-fusion pioneer, whose post-E Street work history also includes stints with Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Peter Gabriel, Natalie Merchant, Santana, Seal, and Sting, among many others.
Late last month, Letters To You's Editor/Publisher Shawn Poole got to chat with David Sancious, connected online from his home-studio in Hawaii, about his two most recent collaborations, both of which are now available as officially released video and audio. Open Secret Live, Vol. One is the first in a series of planned streaming-video releases derived from last year's Open Secret Tour, in which Sancious was joined onstage each night by percussionist Will Calhoun of Living Colour.
Each concert featured the duo performing material from Sancious' and Calhoun's diverse catalog of band-recordings and solo projects over the years, along with new, extensive, and often spontaneously improvisational approaches towards the arrangement and performance of each composition. "Every night, it's exciting," Sancious tells Poole in their online conversation, "and every night it's different." Vol. One of the streaming-video series contains four performances from Calhoun's and Sancious' May 7, 2025 performance at The Cutting Room in New York City, with additional volumes in the series already planned for future release.
You can click here to purchase the digital-video-stream of Open Secret Live, Vol. One, or use the QR code pictured below:
And below you also can watch Shawn Poole's full January 2026 conversation with David Sancious, embedded here from our YouTube channel. Sancious discussed his two most recent collaborative releases, as well as what it was like to collaborate with, respectively, Will Calhoun and Antonio Lusi (aka Lusi il Lupo.) In regards to the Lusi collaboration (more on that below,) Sancious shared his love for the music of the late, great Ennio Morricone, too. He also talked about the roots of the Open Secret Tour, which stretch back to his E Street Band days with drummer Ernest "Boom" Carter, as well as the period when a young, pre-E Street Band Patti Scialfa sang with Sancious' band. Again, click below to watch it all:
As noted above, Sancious' second most recent collaboration is his work on a new version of Ennio Morricone's love theme from his classic score for the equally classic film Nuovo Cinema Paradiso. This new version of Morricone's theme was recorded and released just over a month ago by Italian bassist Lusi il Lupo, featuring accompaniment by Sancious, drummer Jamie Wollam (from Tears For Fears,) and guitarist Valter Vincenti.
Filmmaker and Letters To You contributor Joe Amodei, like so many of us Springsteen fans (as well as Bruce Springsteen himself,) loves the work of Ennio Morricone. Amodei recently arranged an interview-via-email interview with Antonio Lusi, whose stage name is Lusi il Lupo, about this very special recording project. Here's their complete transcribed conversation:
Joe Amodei - There are many well-known Italian film composers who have scored films we love, such as Nicola Piovani, Armando Trovajoli, and Francesco De Masi. Why Morricone?
Antonio Lusi, aka Lusi il Lupo - Here’s why Morricone in particular: the spark was ignited when I was a child, watching Nuovo Cinema Paradiso with my family, reading his name in the credits and being mesmerized by that melody. Then, a few years later, with Once Upon a Time in America, that passion truly blossomed: it was as if his music spoke directly to my soul. Essentially, Morricone entered my artistic world from those very first magical moments and became part of my creative journey.
Amodei - Do you recall the first Morricone-scored film you ever saw?
Lusi - The first film with his music that I consciously remember seeing was Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, watched with my family.
Amodei - What made you want to revisit Nuovo Cinema Paradiso? Why did you choose the particular cut (the love theme) from the score?
Lusi - I chose Nuovo Cinema Paradiso specifically for its music, because Morricone’s love theme touches emotional strings that, for me, run very deep. That melody takes me back to moments of family and childhood, but above all it embodies something timeless. In short, it is the music itself that represents an incredibly strong emotional bond, and that’s why I chose.
Amodei - How did David Sancious come to be involved in the project? Had you worked with David before?
Lusi - In fact, I had never collaborated with David Sancious before. I was looking for a particular sound for the arrangement, and I thought of the way David uses the breath controller on keyboards, which I had heard on some of his records. I’ve always admired him, not only for his work with artists like Bruce Springsteen, Sting, and other Italian musicians such as Zucchero Fornaciari, but also for his artistic sensitivity. When I wrote to him, he evaluated the project, and I was truly honored and grateful that he chose to take part, both on a human and artistic level. He brought extraordinary added value to our work.
Amodei - Were you aware of Bruce Springsteen's love of Morricone and how some of his concerts would open up with the theme to Once Upon a Time in the West? (Incidentally, Once Upon a Time in the West is the film and score that started my love for Morricone - and Sergio Leone - when I was thirteen years old.)
Lusi - Actually, I knew that he's opened concerts with Once Upon a Time in the West, but I didn’t imagine he was such a great admirer of Morricone. It was wonderful to discover this affinity, and of course I’m madly in love with Morricone, as well, so it’s a passion I fully share.
Amodei - Have you heard Bruce's recording of the theme to Once Upon a Time in the West on the We All Love Ennio Morricone disc and, if so, what do you think of it?
Lusi - Yes, I listened to it and found it almost like a meeting of musical souls. Bruce dipped the theme into a new light, transforming it into an intimate dialogue with Morricone’s spirit. It felt like hearing a familiar echo resonating in a new dimension, and I must say it was a poetically enchanting experience.
Amodei - Where is the best place for folks to find and discover your music? What are some of yor most recent releases that we can look out for?
Lusi - If you’d like to discover my music, you can find me on all major platforms. The best way is to visit my website, www.lusiillupo.com , and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube by searching for “Lusi Lupo.” You can also find me on iTunes simply by searching for "Lusi." My most recent release [prior to the love theme from Nuovo Cinema Paradiso] is an arrangement of “Tutu” by Miles Davis, and my latest solo album, Combination, is a project in which I collaborated with various Italian and international artists. I truly invite you to check it out!
-special thanks to Greg Drew
