Jazz with Middle Eastern Roots

The great jazz saxophonist Gilad Atzmon and accomplished guitarist Ofer Ganor meet bassist Irineos Koullouras and drummer Stelios Xydias for a jazz concert on 12th February at Windcraft Music Centre in Nicosia.

Windcraft Loud presents four jazz musicians in a powerful music programme with well-known jazz tunes performed in a unique, sophisticated style that combines great bebop artistry with the sounds of the Middle East.

Gilad Atzmon is an Israeli-born British jazz musician, music producer, novelist and activist. As a multi-instrumentalist he plays saxophones, clarinet and ethnic woodwind instruments. His album Exile was the BBC jazz album of the year in 2003. He has been described by John Lewis on the Guardian as the “hardest-gigging man in British jazz" and he is touring extensively around the world playing in festivals, concert halls and clubs. Gilad Atzmon's music moves more and more towards a cultural hybrid. Atzmon is interested in exploring the meaning of urban folk, the cultural melting pot of the contemporary city. As a bandleader and reed player he has been amazing his listeners with his powerful personal style which merges the music of the Middle East and Eastern Europe together with Jazz and contemporary improvised music.

Ofer Ganor is an accomplished Israeli jazz guitarist who has studied, recorded and played with great jazz legends such as Herbie Hancock, Ron Cater, James Moody, Wynton Marsalis and others. After completing his studies at the Berklee College of Music and the prestigious Thelonius Monk Institute, he moved to New York where he gained experience playing in many clubs and concerts with musicians such as Dwayne Eubanks, Peter Bernstein, Liz Diamond, Avi Leibovich and many others. In 2000 he returned to Israel and has worked with many local artists and has spent time teaching and passing on his knowledge and experience to a younger generation of musicians. He has given master classes in Israel, Cyprus and France and accompanied visiting jazz artists such as Jim Rotondi and Peter Bernstein. “Miles Away” (2011) is his latest release Featuring legendary drummer Jimmy Cobb and Yonatan Levi on Bass.

Cypriot double-bass player Irineos Koullouras studied next to the famous jazz musicians Ron Carter, Charlie Banacos and Ed Barker, while he performed in New York and many European countries with great musicians such as Gary Burton, Theothosi Spassov, Ofer Ganor, Amos Hoffman, Steve Hass, Walter Smith, Asaf Uria, among others. In 2001 he moved to Athens, where he collaborated with Charis Alexiou, Christos Leontis, Nikos Xydakis, Nena Venetsanou, Socrates Malamas, Arturo Sandoval, Larry Harlow and others and he was teaching double-bass at the Nakas Music School. Currently he performs regularly with his Trio (along with Giorgos Krasides on the saxophone and Giorgos Koulas on the drums) and other bands.

After his studies at the Codarts Rotterdam Conservatory, drummer Stelios Xydias returned to Cyprus where he is am active performer and a music educator. He performed in many international and local music festivals, next to great musicians such as Gilad Atzmon, Alexia Vassiliou and others. He also performed in various records (“Simplicity” with the Andreas Rodosthenous Ethnic Jazz Ensemble, “Seven Miles East” and “Colours of Another Sky” by the Takoushis-Karapatakis Project etc.) and in October 2014 he published his personal EP “Silence”, which is a solo drums project.

Gilad Atzmon – saxophone, clarinet
Ofer Ganor – guitar
Irineos Koullouras – double bass
Stelios Xydias – drums

Friday 12 February 2016, 21:00, Windcraft Music Centre (27 Xanthis Xenierou, 1015 Nicosia)

Concert fee 10. Information / Reservations: 22-377748, www.windcraftmusic.com

++On Friday 12/2 at 18:00-19:30 Gilad Atzmon will present at Windcraft Music Centre a workshop for all instrumentalists, exploring different improvisational technics that are based on intuition and the ear, rather than scholarship. Musicians are advised to bring along their musical instrument, their voice and imagination... Participation cost: 15 euro. Information and reservations: 22-377748.