Greek Jazz | Summation Jazz Ensemble

By Yvan Amar (translated from French)

Past Presented! This title alone describes the tone: A beautiful music of today, which juggles with the

fragmentations of the past, referring to the echoes of different worlds, the Eastern Mediterranean, Ottoman

spirituality, American urgency ... A type of jazz which is flavoured with oriental melodies combined with the pulse of

swing. Each piece sends us from one thrill to the next!

Apostolos Sideris is Greek, born in Athens, where 'Past Presented' was recorded. The popular music of his

country is steeped in Turkish and Arab influences: the languid voices which make the pitches quiver, the memory

of the rebetiko of the slums of the port. .. all this was passed into the ears of the young man, whose family came

from Egypt, from cosmopolitan Alexandria, something that made him very anchored in this oriental mixture.

But he is at the same time a man of his time: after having played the flute, he switched to bass, playing rock with

friends, while listening to Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, then Jaco Pastorius and the jazz that lies behind it. He

began to work seriously, and was admitted to the famous Berklee School in Boston. The double bass had now

become his main instrument and he learned the trade in the city's clubs. Four years later, Apostolos moved to

New York! He completed his bass studies with virtuoso John Patitucci, played regularly in Greek clubs in Queens,

and got involved in the Latin jazz and Brazilian music scenes. And there he became in demand by the big names:

drummer Clarence Penn, guitarist Lionel Loueke ... He eventually left America to settle on the dividing line

between Europe and Asia: here he found himself in Istanbul! He co-founded the group Mesel, experimented with

the interaction between oriental traditions and contemporary jazz and recorded Summation. But our man is not

sedentary: goodbye Istanbul, hello Paris! This is where he presents Past Presented.

On Past Presented, there are 12 fairly new pieces for musicians who had played them very little before recording

them. "I like it better for a recording," Apostolos says. "They are still fresh! »

Six main musicians: around the leader on bass (who sometimes sings), Leo Genovese's piano, Andrea Romani's

ney, Giannis Poulios' violin, Dimitris Klonis on drums and Sakir Ozan Uygan on percussion. Guests include singer

Rau/a Tsernou, Taxiarhis Georou/is on oud and Tasos Pou/ios on qanoun.

'Semar for the New Old World' is a true declaration of intent: Serna"! is a traditional Ottoman structure. The theme

is developed by the double bass, very full, but immersed in the group: there is no intention of making it the star of

the recording, without even amplifying it: the sound is totally natural, and we feel the texture of the strings! The

ney and the violin take up the melodic line in unison, drawing a captivating soundscape, and then the choruses

follow one another.

Encounter' begins with a bowed bass line 'on which everyone settles: the violin paces through untampered scales,

followed by the lace of the oud.

'Hurst Burst' is a miniature for piano, bass, and drums perfectly in keeping with contemporary jazz. But the

following track 'Nightingale' is a composition emerging from Arab traditions. 'Hronos' showcases the Greek voices

of Rau/a Tsernou and Apostolos, 'Preprise' is an accompanied bass improvisation, while 'Just Another Karsilama'

brings out the multiple percussion of Sakir Ozan Uygan: ten flowers that bloom differently. The rapid staccato of

Leo Genovese echoes it, and we find it in 'Ege', an evocation of a sea that bathes both Greece and Asia Minor.

Andrea Romani - Ney

Giannis Poulios - Violin

Leo Genovese - Piano

Sakir Ozan Uygan - Percussion

Dimitris Klonis - Drums

Apostolos Sideris - Bass

Special guests:

Taxiarhis Georgoulis - Oud

Tasos Poulios - Kanun

Roula Tsernou - Voice

1. Semai for the New Old World 6:30

2. Encounter 4:40

3. Hurst Burst 1 :18

4. Nightingale (Part 1) 2:37

5. Nightingale (Part 2) 3 17

6. Hronos [Time] 4:47

7. Preprise 2:20

8. Just Another Karsilama 6:28

9. Suburban Stomp 4:51

10. Fanfare 0:52

11. Ege 9:29

12. Birth 5:38

Unauthorized copying, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcast prohibited.

0 SOCADISC Absllone ~

Apostolos Sideris chose remarkable companions,

very interested in exploring each other's culture.

Leo Genovese, an Argentinian pianist based in

the United States, is an old friend of Apostolos

from his Berklee years. An all-terrain virtuoso with

dotted and galloping phrasing, we have heard him

alongside Wayne Shorter, Jack DeJohnette, Joe

Lovano, and Esperanza Spalding.

Sinking into the voluptuous music of Past

Presented doesn't scare him.

Dimitris Klonis, Greek like the leader, is essentially

a jazz drummer, who studied with Alan Dawson

and Adam Nussbaum.

Giannis Pou/ios, also Greek, studied in Istanbul.

This violinist explores the various oriental sounds

of the instrument: timbres, colours, as well as of

course the modes and intervals: an Ottoman third

is neither an Egyptian third nor a European third ...

Andrea Romani is an Italian from Cremona, based

in Paris, and a specialist in the ney, this reed flute

that is played sideways. It is the instrument of

dervishes, of trance and it is often played in the

high pitch. Andrea masters all registers and

adapts it to all contexts.

$akir Ozan Uygan is a Turkish percussionist who

started on the darbouka, but has rubbed shoulders

with multiple traditions and a diverse

instrumentarium: mainly oriental - daf, bendir, req

... but also Latin American - bongos, cajon ...

By Yvan Amar (translated from French)