"Summer Hits"

Cayetano – aka George Bratanis – started his musical journey with Stroggilo Kitrino (The Round Yellow) band back in 1996. As a solo artist under the name Cayetano he appeared in 2004 and since then he has released 5 albums which gained him international recognition.


This is his latest single, a great cover of Commodores' Easy.



www.cayetanomusic.com

Coming from the new EP (2012) of Super Mario and the Exotic Watermelons, this is an afrobeat influenced tune. This EP is the second addition to the funky, soul, jazz universe of Super Mario and the Exotic Watermelons.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Exotic-Watermelons/329822327048145

Dr. Opin is not a Greek band but the reason it is featured here is Yorgos Pervolarakis, their vocalist, guitarist, composer and lyricist. Dr. Opin describe their music as a cosmopolitan amalgama of worldbeat, Balkan, downbeat, soul-punk.
Here’s a great cover of Tuxedomoon’s In A Manner of Speaking coming from Dr. Opin’s album Time Garden (2010)

www.doctoropin.com/

Salvador Sango – aka Sotiris Papadopoulos – released a second album in 2012, Cuando Se Caen Las Mascaras (When The Masks Fall), further exploring the afrobeat and latin jazz style.


salvadorsango.com

Exotica

Kostas Bezos (1905 – 1943) was a rembetico player but also a Hawaiian group bandleader. Pame sti Honolulu (Let’s go to Honolulu) was recorded in the early 30s, while Ta Aspra Poulia sta Vouna (The White Birds in the Mountains) was recorded in 1936 in Athens, Greece.
The two songs are some of the few exotica-sound Greek songs (although before the term was really established in the 50s by Les Baxter and Martin Denny) including animal sounds (the second one) and Hawaiian influences.


Pame sti Honolulu (Let's go to Honolulu) Ta Aspra Poulia sta Vouna (The White Birds in the Mountains)
info from Mademoiselle Montana

Trio Latino issued a 4-track single in 1966 including Cantos de Selva as opening track.
It is their own composition and another example of Greek exotica with hammond, animal and bird sounds.

Cantos de Selva
info Vinylmine

Sperantza Vrana (1928 – 2009) was a singer, actress, writer and performer. Here’s a mambo from 1954 performed in the movie Athens Beauty (I Orea ton Athinon).  Music belongs to George Mouzakis.

Afto to Mambo (This Mambo)

Jazz Bouzouki

They call him “phenomenon”. Michalis Paouris has a target: to make bouzouki famous as a leading jazz instrument. He is not the first to play jazz bouzouki but certainly he is impressive. To quote Al Di Meola “His technique is ridiculously fast! So it reminds me of me when I was 25 years younger…”
Born in Athens, he started playing bouzouki at 8 and he has released 2 albums up to now.



The Rosenberg trio & Michael Paouris - Minor Swing (2012)


Al Di Meola - Peo Alfonsi & Michael Paouris in Athens


Silencio from his latest album Disharmony

Check blog, FB, YouTube


Nikos Tatasopoulos was born in USA and is the son of bouzouki soloist John Tatasopoulos. While in US he studied classical piano and jazz guitar. He started playing the bouzouki at the age of 3 and toured extensively with his father. At the age of 19 he returned in Greece and since then he has collaborated with many great Greek artists.

Minor Swing


www.nikostatasopoulos.com/


Manolis Karantinis is a bouzouki virtuoso with 2 personal albums and numerous appearances in works of great Greek composers and singers. His style incorporates elements of rembetico, Spanish music and jazz.

Bouzouki in Spain

www.karantinis.com/en/


George Hristidis is another bouzouki prodigy. In 1982 he released the album From East to West (Ap' Anatoli se Dysi) with Mimis Plessas covering Greek and international standards.

Carnaval (Luiz Bonfa)

Diamantis Hiotis is the son of the famous Manolis Hiotis. He is a multi-instrumentalist and inventor of the bouzouki with 5 strings (his father invented the bouzouki with 4 strings which together with the tuning made the jazz playing possible).

Diamond Tecckilla



Harry Lemonopoulos, born 1923 in Katerini, Greece and died 1975 in US is considered one of the best classic bouzouki players. Although he started as a violonist and guitarist he took bouzouki to another level.

Selection from Gypsy Melodies (Tsitsornia) from the album The Golden Fingers of Harry Lemonopoulos