Local acts end jazz club’s season
The Half Note Jazz Club, the popular live music venue in Athens that is renowned for its uninterrupted offering of imported shows in the winter, has turned to local acts for the remainder of the current season, which ends late May for the summer break. In a way, it is a case of history repeating itself, should one consider the Mets district club’s origins on Michalakopoulou, which was a home primarily for Greek jazz acts. The club’s domestic-focused agenda this month, dubbed the Take Five Project after both the landmark jazz number by Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond and the number of Greek acts appearing in the end-of-season series, began last Friday and ends May 20. The series opened with two dynamic Latin-jazz nights last Friday and Saturday with the long-serving yet always intriguing drummer Giorgos Trantalidis and his gifted band comprising Yiotis Samaras on guitar, Manolo Vega on piano and vocals, Manuel Orza on bass and Enrique Bu on percussion. Now 35 years into his career, Trantalidis emerged as a member of the popular Greek rock band Socrates and the offshoot project Sphinx, before going on to perform at major international jazz festivals. Guitarist Costas Magginas and his trio took over at the Half Note last night. They also perform a second show tonight. Magginas is joined by bassist Irineos Koulouras, drummer Nikos Kapilidis as well as saxophonist David Lynch, as a guest performer. The Organ Trio, led by pianist Giorgos Kontrafouris, performs two shows, tomorrow and Wednesday. Joined by Yiotis Samaras on guitar and Alexandros Drakos Ktistakis on drums, Kontrafouris will present material from his latest album, «Little Daddy’s Blues.» The Half Note’s series continues with Brazz, a newly formed yet intriguing act, on Thursday and Friday. Material here will include original compositions by the band’s members, jazz standards, as well as tracks by Anton Jobim and Kurt Weil. This mini series will end next Saturday and Sunday with the Nukleus trio, an act that has become familiar with Athenian concertgoers through regular performances at the downtown Parafono club since forming in May, 2006. Comprising Yiannis Stavropoulos on drums, Sami Amiri on piano, Pericles Trivolis on double bass, the act has drawn the attention of this city’s jazz fans on the strength of inspired renditions of jazz masterpieces.
