Alice in Jazzy Christmasland

Cellar 27 Wine Bar presents: LIVE JAZZ with the Alice in Jazzy Christmasland Trio!

Join us on Wednesday, December 27th for a jazzy night filled with the unforgettable and timeless songs from the golden era of swing, as well as well-known Christmas tunes! Jazz singer Alice Ayvazian will be joined with pianist Dimitris Miaris and bassist Costas Challoumas for a musical journey through all the classics!

Alice Ayvazian received her Bachelor's Degree in Vocal Performance from Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachusetts, a Master's in Educational Leadership from Saint Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas and a second Master's in Classical Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Nicosia, Cyprus. In the United States, she participated as lead and backing vocalist in numerous studio recording projects as well as various performances and concerts. Since returning to Cyprus, she has established her reputation as an active figure in the local jazz scene performing alongside with some of the best musicians in Cyprus. She is the lead vocalist of the Steppin' Out Jazz Band with Konstantinos Efraimidis (clarinet/saxophone) and Dimitris Miaris (piano). A member of the Cyprus Voice Centre, Alice is also a sought-after clinician and vocal coach. She has presented various vocal workshops & seminars for choirs, educational institutions and music conservatories. In addition to her singing activities, Alice has conducted research on the early-twentieth-century Armenian composer Komitas Vardapet, which she has presented at the Komitas and Medieval Music Culture International Conference in Yerevan, Armenia (2016). She is currently instructor of Jazz Voice at the Department of Music and Dance at the University of Nicosia (since 2009) and the Director of the University's Jazz Choir (since 2011). She is also a voice instructor at the Musicopolis music school.

Dimitris Miaris was born in Nicosia in 1991. He started playing classical piano from 6 years old. At the age of 16 Dimitris had his first connection with Jazz through the “Jazz Futures” workshops that took place in Nicosia with great musicians such as Sacha Perry, Vahagn Hayrapetyan, Ari Roland and Chris Byars. Since then he took part in almost all the “Jazz Futures” workshops and had various live performances in Cyprus and Greece. He also attended the monthly Bicommunal Workshops with Charis Ioannou. The last two years he participated in Dr. Barry Harris’ workshops in Rome. He is also a member of ‘Neorebetes’, a Greek traditional band, where he plays the accordion. The band has performed in Cyprus, Greece, Kazan (Russian), Sydney and Melbourne (Australia). He received his Bachelor Degree for Jazz Piano at the Ionian University's Jazz Department in 2009 under the instruction of George Kontrafouris.

Costas Challoumas was born and raised in Larnaca. He studied pedagogy at the University of Cyprus, where he graduated in 1999. He studied double bass and music theory with Nikos Ioannou and continued his studies at ‘The Collective School of Music’ in New York with Sean Conly and Joe Fitzjerald. For twenty years he is a member of various musical ensembles (traditional, jazz, latin etc.) and also of music and theatre performance groups. Amongst others, he was a member of the musical ensemble of ancient instruments "Terandros", the original Cuban band "Havana Noche" and "Turnaround Jazz Quartet", while the last years he is the artistic director of "Makam Ensemble". He has collaborated in concerts and theatrical performances in Cyprus and abroad with important Greek composers and singers such as: Stavros Xarchakos, Glykeria, Giorgos Dalaras, Pantelis Thalassinos, Vasilis Lekkas, Dimitris Basis, Eleonora Zouganeli, Nena Venetsanou, Sofia Papazoglou and others. In recent years he has been working as a teacher in Primary Education. There, besides teaching music, he organizes and directs major contemporary orchestras with the pupils of the schools, who experiment and create through electronic and traditional instruments.