Our band has actually many friends who support us in one way or another, and we are grateful to each and everyone of them, but here we would like to specifically list those who have appeared as guests in some of our concerts.
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Daniele Raimondi – trumpet
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Born in Palermo on June 12, 1992, Daniele Raimondi is one of Italy’s finest young jazz trumpet players. At the age of 18, and for 2 consecutive years, he won the Jimmy Woode Award for “Best Trumpeter” with a panel of judges that included Dave Liebman, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Tony Monaco and many other prominent jazz musicians. In 2012 he graduated from the Conservatory “G. Tartini” in Trieste with honors and was awarded as the best graduate of the year with a cash prize. He has won many other jazz competitions such as Porsche Live – Giovani e Jazz, Premio Franco Russo, Vittoria Jazz Rotary Award, and has recorded for the labels Blue Serge and Abeat Records. He has shared the stage with numerous leading artists of the Italian and the international jazz scene, such as Roberto Gatto, Gege’ Telesforo, Flavio Boltro, Giovanni Mirabassi, Aldo Romano, Rosario Bonaccorso, Giorgio Rosciglione, and many more. He currently lives in Rome and plays mainly in Rome, Trieste, and Paris.
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Philippos Pappas – tenor saxophone
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Born in Athens in 1970, Philippos Pappas is one of Greece’s finest jazz saxophonists. He actually started out with piano and flute as his main instruments, and it wasn’t until the age of 22 that he switched to the saxophone. After studying saxophone in Greece for 2 years, in 1994 he moved to New York for one year where he took lessons at the New School with Mario Escalera, Arnie Lawrence, Chico Hamilton, Cecil Bridgewater, Reggie Workman, and others. After returning to Greece, he has collaborated with many important Greek jazz musicians, with the ΕΡΤ (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation) orchestra both as a saxophonist and as a flutist, and as lead tenor sax in the Athens Big Band.
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Antonis Papadopoulos – percussion
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One of the greatest Greek percussionists of his generation, and an expert on West African percussion instruments, Antonis Papadopoulos was born in Athens in 1981. He studied Greek-Middle Eastern and Orchestral percussion. However, since he discovered the djembe in 2001, West African percussion has been his main passion and the main focus of his musical journey. He has attended a multitude of seminars and masterclasses in Europe and Africa, his mentor and main influence being Maître Maré Sanogo. In 2003 he met choreographer, dancer, and dance instructor Anna Karamitsou, who taught him how to accompany African Dance. As a result of this collaboration, they founded the Seli Kanou Company, where he is a soloist and head of the music training of its members. In 2007, Anna founds Seli Kanou School, one of the most important centers regarding the research, education and transmission of African culture in Greece, of which Antonis is a permanent collaborator. He has collaborated on stage with Seraphin Zekoua, Moussa Oulare, Maître Maré Sanogo, Mamadama Camara, Bachir Sanogo, Kassoum Diarra, Sega Sidibé, etc. Member of Nikos Touliatos’ «Echodrasi» and Petros Kourtis’ «Drumvoice» percussion groups, and the world music band «Los Dos O Mas».
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Christina Syriopoulou – vocals
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Christina Syriopoulou is one of the most soulful jazz singers in Greece. Her passion for jazz singing was born while she was studying in Paris and came across the intercultural crossings of jazz, bossa nova, latin and bebop that were going on in that city. Having finished a master’s degree in Music Studies and having a diploma in classical piano, she went on to study jazz phrasing at the Athenaeum Conservatory and also attended private courses with singers Irini Konstantinidi and Tamuz Nissim, and extended masterclasses for voice and performance with Μirka Yementzaki, Spiros Sakkas and Yannis Μitrou. She’s currently also studying jazz piano privately with George Kontrafouris. Christina sings swing, blues, soul, funk and traditional music with several bands such as Hot Club de Grece, and has shared the stage with musicians such as Bob Wijnen, Ben Wolfe, Spiros Rassias, Christos Digkas, and Yiorgos Georgiadis.
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Natasha Martin – tap dance
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Natasha Hantas-Martin explores dance in order to approach music. Since 2007 she focuses on tap dance and body music in relation to jazz, soul, latin, and hip-hop music genres. She is mentored by tap dancer and body musician Thanos Daskalopoulos and has been taught by Max Pollak, Heather Cornell, Keith Terry, Junior Laniyan, Roxane Butterfly, Simone Mongelli, Michelle Drees, and Leela Petronio to mention a few. Natasha is the co-founder of the Athens Tap Jam, a bimonthly event of improvisational tap dancing and live music. In 2014 she completed her MA in Dance, making her the first Greek scholarship holder of Choreomundus: International Master in Dance Knowledge, Practice, and Heritage. She has been teaching from a young age and always aims at promoting intercultural dialogue through dance.
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