Live Jazz events & concerts in Greece

The rhythms of jazz are deeply rooted in the music of black Americans, but the harmonies and melodies come from largely from classical music.
And perhaps this is the main reason that at each intersection of the two musical styles , the result is a seductive mixture ......

In his relatively short life, Wynton Kelly, who was born on 2 December 1931, was an exceptional pianist, a greatly underrated talent, an often overlooked musician and someone who did not elbow his way into stardom. His story is «a startling example of the strange irrelevance of merit to fame in jazz». Mild mannered and fun to be with, a genial, laid-back type, an extrovert who liked to joke a lot, he played with most jazz greats of his time.

In US, the birthplace of jazz, new listeners are not engaging with jazz music as much as they did in the past and jazz album sales have been dropping - in 2014 they amounted to only 2% of all music album sales. After the turn of the century interest in jazz seemed to have waned, perhaps because many long-time enthusiasts have not engaged much with the advent of digital releases or with the newly emerging trends that cross the boundaries of different music genres.

Dave Brubeck, a jazz icon who attained pop-star acclaim with recordings such as “Take Five" and “Blue Rondo a la Turk," died 3 years ago on December 5, 2012.

Milcho Leviev, the Thessaloniki-based «godfather of Balkan jazz» turns 76 on December 19, 2015.

Known as the most famous jazz bassist , Charles Mingus (1922-1979) was above all the most inventive and dynamic jazz composer of his time. He belongs to a particular class , that can only be described as " Mingus ".

"The reluctant rocker and devoted jazzman: Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones" By Mihalis Yanneski - Charlie Watts, the drummer who became ultra-famous as a member of the Rolling Stones, was born on 2 June 1941. However, it is not widely known that Watts is first and foremost a jazz musician and aficionado.

One of the most talented alto saxophonists and at the same time one of the most turbulent personalities of jazz passed away on 15 June 1982: Art Pepper, whose superb mastery of the alto saxophone, exciting compositions and stormy life have left an indelible mark in jazz history.

Jazz guitarist Tassos Spiliotopoulos returned to his erstwhile base London, for a one-night performance with his quartet at the Vortex Jazz Club, on 26 September. The Vortex gig marked the start of a month-long tour of venues around England.