FOUGARO JAZZ FESTIVAL #4
OMEGA PROJECT 3 (Op3), TANIA GIANNOULI ENSEMBLE, MARIOS STROFALIS & ROMAN GOMEZ, MARIOS VISVIKIS & PANOS TSIGKOS,PETROS KLAMPANIS DUO, KATERINE DUSKA
2 days | 6 ensembles
Fougaro organizes for a fourth consecutive year the Fougaro Jazz Festival and welcomes, on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 September, six distinguished ensembles from the national scene!
This year we pay tribute to some of our top jazz pianists and the ensembles in which they participate, that span a broad spectrum of contemporary and traditional jazz and their permutations.
“Life is a lot like jazz... it's best when you improvise.” George Gershwin
Programme
SATURDAY 24/9
20:30 Omega Project 3 (Op3) | 22:00 Tania Giannouli Ensemble | 23:15 Marios Strofalis & Roman Gomez
SUNDAY 25/9
20:30 Marios Visvikis & Panos Tsigkos | 22:00 Petros Klampanis Duo | 23:15 Katerine Douska
FOUGARO JAZZ FESTIVAL #4
Art director: Haris Kavadias
Starts at: 8pm with Jazz DJ sets
ADMISSION FREE
Participants
OMEGA PROJECT 3 (Op3)
Script & Concept: Dimitris Mitropapas
Musicians: Andreas Bogas - piano | Christos Tzouras - piano/FX | Yorgos Nikolaidis - guitar | Yannis Koutsoudakis - bass | Dimitris Mitropapas - drums & percussion
The experimental band Omega Project 3 (Op3) starts from atmospheric music while also borrowing elements from such diverse genres as modern classic composition, jazz, electronic music and traditional tunes. All these are combined with narration, poetry and speech as they come to life with the aid of a small team of actors. This special mixture of individual ingredients in an artistic amalgam with striking background visuals and an atmospheric lighting produces a story of inner search and hope. Music, theatre, literature and visuals are harmoniously combined to give a comprehensive meaning to the idea of "thematic art".
TANIA GIANNOULI ENSEMBLE
Tania Giannouli - composition, piano | Guido de Flaviis - saxophones | Solis Barki - percussion, idiophones | Alexandros Botinis - cello
The ensemble first appeared at the Apollo Theatre of Syros in the context of the 2nd Syros Jazz Festival, and continued with concerts at the Onassis Stegi, the A & L Katakouzinos Foundation, the Visitors; Centre of the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Foundation and the International Festival of Patra. The music of TGE contains elements of improvisation, chamber music with influences from the 21st-century avant-garde, post-impressionism, contemporary European jazz and more world sounds. Their album "Transcendence" was warmly received by eminent music critis and publications in Greece and abroad and features on lists with the "Best albums of 2015" in Greece, Canada, Portugal and Korea; it was voted #2 "Best Jazz album of 2015" by the readers of Jazzonline and #1 "Best Jazz album of 2015" by a panel of critics on the same portal.
MARIOS STROFALIS & ROMAN GOMEZ
Marios Strofalis—soloist and composer of soundtracks for European Taxim, Tango Mediterraneo, The 10th Commandment, Oi gennaioi tis Samothrakis, Kiev, Rottweiler and many more for films, TV series and theatre productions— and the Argentinean soloist Roman Gomez, a key exponent of Latin American jazz, present their musical world in a special creative encounter. The internationally acclaimed masters of tango follow world, jazz and tango paths with alternating images and emotions on a unique journey of cosmopolitan music from the Mediterranean to Latin America.
MARIOS VISVIKIS & PANOS TSIGKOS
The collaboration of Marios Visvikis and Panos Tsigkos creates an audiovisual experience influenced by the recently launched "Music for Jaw Harp" and the footage shot by professor Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf in Nepal in the 1970s. The combination of electronic and primordial instruments such as jaw harp, kalimba, overtone flute and gong produces a minimalist, electronic and ambient mix with a pronounced element of improvisation. The video is directed by Christiana Tsigkou.
PETROS KLAMPANIS DUO
Petros Klampanis - bass | Stavros Lantsias - piano
Two internationally acclaimed artists, Petros Klampanis and Stavros Lantsias, "converse" in a programme with their own compositions as well as arrangements of Greek, classical and jazz motifs. Petros Klampanis, who studied at the Amsterdam Conservatoire and in New York's Aaron Copland School of Music, is an accomplished bass virtuoso, composer and orchestrator. Living in New York, he has worked with some of the most famous figures of jazz and has given concerts on key venues around the world. The Cypriot pianist and composer Stavros Lantsias is known for the sensibility of his work, his special sound—especially where he combines the timbre of piano with drums—and the dynamism of his improvisations. He studied at the Hellenic Conservatory of Nicosia and continued with a Bachelor of Music Degree in Commercial Arranging from Boston's Berklee College of Music. He has received the “Count Basie Jazz Masters award for pianists 1989” and the “Quincy Jones Jazz Masters award for arrangers 1990”. After Berklee he continued with piano studies under the jazz “guru” Charlie Banakos. He has worked as pianist and arranger in Greek discography, television and theatre.
KATERINE DUSKA
Katerine Duska - vocals, guitar | Alexandros Livitsanos - piano, synth | Kostas Stergiou - drums
Katerine Duska, of Greek descent, was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. The versatile sound of her songs reflects her diverse musical influeneces from a broad spectrum of pop, neo-soul, soulful, R&B;, indie, electro & jazz pop. Her songs speak of love, hesitation and the defenses against the inner rift caused by the socio-political issues of our time, of restarts, of the yearning triggered by long-distance relationships but also of the desire to live and make good use of every passing minute, and they paint images of an ideal, possibly utopian microcosm. All these elements coexist in her first album, “Embodiment”, with her own music and lyrics.
