Tribute to the Duke Ellington Songbook

The Steppin' Out Jazz Band presents the concert ‘Tribute to the Duke Ellington Songbook’ at Technopolis 20, on Friday, 13th of September, at 8:30pm. Enjoy a music tribute to Duke Ellington, one of the most important composers in the history of jazz, as well as being a bandleader who held his large group together continuously for almost 50 years.

The Jazz singer Alice Ayvazian will be joined on stage with Konstantinos Efraimidis on clarinet, Costas Challoumas on double bass and Dimitris Miaris on piano.

Entrance: 12 euro
Reservations necessary at 70002420 (calls only).
Sponsor: Cyprus Tourism Organisation

A few words about the musicians
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.

Konstantinos Efraimidis was born in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 1986. He started his classical studies at the age of 12. He is a classically trained clarinetist who received his diploma from the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki. During that time he was a member of the State Conservatory Symphonic Orchestra, the Symphonic Orchestra of Aristotle and the Concert Band of Sindos. He is currently continuing his music studies in Jazz Performance under the instruction of saxophonist Charis Ioannou at the University of Nicosia. Since moving to Cyprus, he has become an active member of the local music scene. He is a member of the Avanti Crossover Symphonic Orchestra, a member of the Steppin’ out Jazz Trio with Alice Ayvazian (voice) and Dimitris Miaris (piano), and with a gypsy jazz band: The Hot Club of Cyprus. Since October 2016 he is the clarinet teacher at the English School of Nicosia.

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”.

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.