Alonisma Project: From Western Jazz to Middle East sounds

People from different cultures improvise together

Alonisma means to wander, to travel without a specific plan. Four artists with different cultures and different backgrounds meet together and invite their audience to follow their free improvisations with influences from Western Jazz to Middle East sounds, at Technopolis 20 in Paphos, on Monday, 30th of April 2018, at 8pm.

The musicians performing are Andrea Romani (flute, ney), Apostolos Sideris (double bass), Estreilla Besson (piano) and Ioannis Vafeas (drums).

ALONISMA PROJECT was created in 2014 in Paris as a collective of international artists from Europe, Middle East and Brazil including musicians, painters, film makers, dancers, actors and academics.

Entrance: 12 euro
Reservations are necessary at 70002420 (calls only)

A few words about the musicians

Andrea Romani | flute, ney
Based in Paris, born in Cremona, Italy (1975), Andrea is a self-taught musician. In 2003 he won a scholarship to the Siena Jazz summer workshop. He established in 2008 his first Parisian quartet with Antoine Paganotti - drums, Daniel Benoit - piano, Nicolas Moreaux - bass and a duet with the guitarist Maxime Fougeres. In 2007, he was the flutist on the album Southern Avenue, directed by Fabrizio Cecca’s sextet in Paris, published by Chrystal Records with the trumpet player Julien Alour and the Italian pianist Giovanni Ceccarelli. Mostly in France and Italy, he has performed many times with the Italian guitar player Federico Casagrande. Among musicians he has performed with: Nico Morelli, Karl Yannouska, Marco Vaggi, Mauro Gargano, Gaetano Partipilo, and Samy Thiebault. In 2011 he recorded two tracks as a guest of Harris Lambrakis Quartet in the album “Meteora” and performed many concert in Greece with the same group. In 2014 created in Paris “Alonisma” a collective of international artists from Europe and Middle East and Brazil including musicians, painters, film makers, dancers, actors, academics. After years of experiments he recorded his first Album in December 2017 released by Z-Kalan.

Apostolos Sideris | double bass
Apostolos Sideris was born in 1978 in Athens, Greece, where he had his first musical training, playing the classical flute. By the time he was 15 he had switched to the electric bass. It didn't take long for him to fall in love with the instrument, and he was soon playing with various rock bands around Athens. By the time he was 17, his focus was directed towards jazz, which led him to move to Boston in order to attend Berklee School of Music. During his time at Berklee, he picked up the upright bass, which since then has been his main instrument. Following his stint in Boston, Apostolos moved to New York and earned his Master's degree in Performance, while being instructed by bass virtuoso John Patitucci. Since then he has been freelancing around the States as well as abroad. He has performed with a wide array of musicians ranging from jazz masters such as drummer Clarence Penn, guitarists Lionel Loueke and Rez Abbasi and pianist Leo Genovese, to world music sensations such as composer and oudist Ara Dinkjan, Greek ECM recording artist Savina Yannatou, Syrian vocal master Youssef Khasab and Lebanese composer Ziad Rahbani. In addition to being a performer, he is a devoted composer, writing in many different styles, ranging from jazz to Middle Eastern and Latin influenced music. He currently resides in Istanbul and has been directing his creative energy mainly toward working with an Ethnic-Jazz group he co-founded, called MESEL, as well as preparing his own album. It will consist of his own compositions and improvisations, based on Middle Eastern themes refracted through his own jazz-influenced perspective.

Estreilla Besson | piano
Born in 1994, E.B. was brought up in a world of poetry, philosophy and music. She is taught the piano from the age of 5 through the discipline of both classical and jazz structures. From 2011 to 2013 she studies at the Didier Lockwood Jazz School ‘CMDL’. In 2015 she is rewarded at the CRR (Paris Regional Conservatory) as a classical piano musician, in the classes of Célimène Daudet, and of Christian Rivet in chamber music. Presently she is following the perfecting class by Rena Shereshevskaya at the Rueil Malmaison Conservatory. It is mostly the 20th and 21st century repertoire that she explores throughout her interpretation work. She is also studying conducting at the St-Maur-Des-Fossés conservatory. She is playing in a quintet for which she writes the music, with the Mezzo Soprano Victoria Shereshevskaya, including different kinds of arts (dance, video etc). She is part of the contemporary orchestra ensemble of the Cité International ''Ensemble Écoute", directed by Fernando Palomeque and Alex Nante. Very much taken by Balkan music, she likes to explore the specific rhythms and makams inside her own composition. In august 2015, her first contemporary piece was for cello solo and was interpreted by Eric-Maria Couturier (Ensemble InterContemporain of Paris) at the Music in Brionnais event.

Ioannis Vafeas | drums
Ioannis Vafeas is a professional drummer. He was born in Cyprus and grew up in musician’s family. He studied Jazz at the Berklee College of Music in Boston MA and holds a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies from the Boston’s Conservatory. The years that followed found Ioannis busy in the music industry performing, teaching and recording. He attended important Jazz Festivals, Venues and Concert Halls around the world in Germany, Poland, England, Lebanon, Kuwait, Greece, Italy, Serbia, the U.S and shared the stage with great artists and Symphony Orchestras. He has numerous collaborations in cd’s, recordings and theatre productions. Since 2009 Ioannis is a member of the faculty of the University of Nicosia. His credits also include drum seminars on soloing and brush playing in various Universities and Music Schools. Since 2016 is co-leading with the sax player Charis Ioannou the IOANNOU/VAFEAS Quartet and their first album “Bridge of Locks” was released in April 2017. Ioannis is endorsing Zildjian Cymbals since 2009.