Jazzy Nights at Windcraft

“Jazz washes away the dust of every day life.”
— Art Blakey

Four jazz concerts; four jazz groups; sixteen excellent jazz musicians gather in the basement of Windcraft Music Centre to “wash away the dust” of the summer city nights. Windcraft brings together four new collaborations with fresh sounds in a “tribute to jazz”!

Mon 22 July, DIMITRI MIARIS TRIO feat. ACHILLEAS TOMASIDES
Dimitri Miaris~piano
Greg Makamian~ contrabass
Marios Spyrou~drums
Featuring Achilleas Tomasides ~ tenor sax

Featuring the “new generation” of Cypriot jazz musicians, Dimitris Miaris Trio will be playing classic songs of the golden era of Jazz, with a Bebop feel of Jazz pianists like Bud Powell, and Thelonious Monk. Featuring on the tenor saxophone for this concert: Achilleas Tomasides.

Fri. 26 July, TRIO SMILES featuring CHARIS IOANNOU plays the music of Wes Montgomery

Charis Ioannou ~ saxophone
Stelios Papazoglou ~ guitar
Andreas Rodosthenous ~ bass
Rodos Panayiotou ~ drums

Trio Smiles has been a part of the Cyprus live music scene for the last few years. Due to living in different countries the opportunities to make music together is mostly once in the year so the meeting and music making becomes even more special and to challenge it even more the goal is every year to have a new musical thema and various guests. In the last few years projects consisted of the Trio with Gabriela Kozyra and Eleonora Rousou playing the music of Joyce, the Trio with George Krasides playing Original Compositions, the Trio with Magda Mendes tributing Milton Nascimento etc.

This year we decide to dedicate our focus on Wes Montgomery. There are many sides to the great artist phenomenon Wes Montgomery. He was not only one of the jazz guitar greats, celebrating the tradition of the instrument but also taking it further to open new ways for the future, he was apart from that a great improviser always searching and finding the best available notes and melodies satisfying any audience and musicians and not necessary guitarists. Wes wrote many great compositions with some of them becoming standards in the jazz world and since the 60's being performed massively. Wes Montgomery in the few years of his recorded career (1957-1968) managed to play in various group formats and styles and with a diverse pallet of artists. From smokey organ blues to swing classics, latin grooves,orchestra and pop covers Wes managed to put always his stamp and never dichotomized music into styles and categories-just played the best he could unconditionally. Last but not least being the master of a not common thumb technic,managed to show the world that anything can be done!!!

Trio smiles consists of Rodos Panagiotou/Drums, Andreas Rodosthenous/Bass, Stelios Papazoglou/Guitar and this year having as special guest with them Charis Ioannou/alto Saxophone

Mon 29 July, SYMMETRY JAZZ TRIO

Marios Toumbas ~ piano
Michael Messios ~ bass
Ioannis Vafeas ~ drums

Symmetry is a newly formed jazz trio featuring Marios Toumbas on piano, Michalis Messios on bass and Ioannis Vafeas on drums. The band will perform original music (mainly written by M. Messios) as well as jazz standards.

Fri. 2 August, QUADRAPHONIC FM

Ahmet Elmas ~ saxophone
Ermis Michail ~ guitar
Andreas Panteli ~ piano
Cahit Kutrafali ~ bass
Stelios Xydias ~ drums

Quadraphonic FM is a newly formed modern jazz band consisting of Ahmet Elmas (saxophone), Andreas Panteli (piano), Cahit Kutrafali (bass), Stelios Xydias (drums) and Ermis Michael (guitar) as a special guest. After their successful debut at AglanJazz Festival earlier this summer, they meet again at Windcraft to present pieces of modern jazz composers, such as Seamus Blake, Aaron Parks, Kurt Rosenwinkel and Robert Glasper among others, specially arranged for this quartet’s sound!