If you said “Gallarate” to an actor, a director or a theater enthusiast, in Turin, Milan or Rome, it was easy for the interlocutor to add, instinctively and by association: «Don Alberto». Subjecting a musician, an avid listener, or a vinyl collector to the same experiment, here is the most probable reaction: «Carù». It is difficult to distinguish, in the customer’s perception, between the store and the person Paolo Carù – who passed away yesterday at the age of 77 – because the commercial activity ended up identifying itself with the figure of the owner (and with that of his wife, Anna). Even today, leaving home to shop there, in Garibaldi square, you don’t say “I’m going out to get a book” or “I’m going to buy a record”. It is said “I go to Carù”.
A shop that survived the era of megastores (how many are left?), online orders and “liquid” consumption, a point of reference in which to find titles and artists that are absent or even unknown elsewhere. Safe harbor to find passion, competence, advice. The latter had to be earned, because the welcome at Carù was unlikely to be one of the sparkling ones. Question of the environment, given theessentiality of the shop. Question of character personal. And of concentration.
Paolo Carù was not one of those sellers with an easy smile, good for everyone and for all seasons, someone who aimed to beat the greatest number of receipts in the shortest time possible. He doesn’t found and run a magazine like Buscadero nor does one end up between the columns of Guardianamong the best record shops in the world, working hastily and superficially. Paolo Carù listened, attentively. He listened to music, sure, but also the customers.
«He was authoritative to the point that someone could feel in awe. But, one step at a time, Paolo understood who was in front of him and how to best serve him. He got to know people’s musical tastes, almost acting as a guide. It happened to me that I didn’t even need to ask, I would arrive and he would recommend plays that he thought I would like. And he got it. A rare professional culture». Word of the bookseller Francesca Boragno, a name inevitably linked to the historic Busto business of the same name. «A long friendship has bound me to Paolo and Anna – he recalls – as well as collaboration for various editions of Two thousand books. Many wonderful experiences, including conferences and meetings with authors. Then there’s the whole musical question. I have been a client of Carù and, having married Gianni Buzzi…». Buzzi, another cult name, in Busto, branch records and hi-fi systems. «There was a sort of bond, a common thread. Gianni and Paolo had heard and understood the scent of certain music, largely coming from the United States. Everyone in his area, working in nearby cities, has taught people to listen, with a competence and professionalism from which many have benefited. I wrote it and I’ll say it again: a lighthouse is gone».
Bright even in the words of Max De Aloecomposer and multi-instrumentalist, jazz harmonica player of international level, founder, in Gallarate, of the Musical Expression Center: «Paolo Carù is gone a thousand times beyond being a trader as commonly understood. We are talking about an example of passion and professionalism. But even if we want to limit the memory to his activity… well, his shop… something unique». It is today but the role of “lighthouse” can be fully understood by thinking back to a world that seems light years away, one in which knowing the existence of certain records did not necessarily mean being able to listen to them: someone had to “make them arrive”. A world without internet and without Amazon, conditioned by the choices of TV and radio, in which tastes and curiosities risked becoming frustrated. «Thanks to Carù – recalls De Aloe – I discovered artists I didn’t know existed. He introduced me to, for example, Hendrik Meurkens, a great guy with whom I then played in China. The path was also frequently used in the sense reverse, in the direction that started from the musicians and arrived at Carù. He was really well known, I often heard of him, going to play around the world, especially in Europe. Here you are, it’s nice that Gallarate is also known for this shop. It is sad, however, to think that another column has gone. It’s difficult for people like that to be replaced.”
