Alekos Vretos

A very nice article for the Greek Jazz Scene from the musicians perspective! - Athens Voice - Giannis Panagopoulos

Si ses études aux conservatoire d'Athènes, puis à celui de Boston, le destinaient à devenir pianiste, c'est le oud qui a finalement conquis Alekos Vretos, après sa rencontre avec le célèbre joueur Palestinien Simon Shaheen. Musicien dorévant respecté, il évolue dans un style « jazz méditerranéen ». Il revient sur son année 2011...

2011 a été une année étrange, surtout pour un musicien grec. Tous les événements politiques, économiques et sociaux ont peu à peu trouvé un écho sur la scène musicale. Bizarrement, on a pu assister à plus de concerts d’artistes étrangers en Grèce que les années précédentes. Cette explosion de l’offre en début d’année n’a pas vraiment profité aux musiciens grecs. Pour une raison que j’ignore, les clubs ont pris des risques en faisant venir des musiciens européens. On n’en avait jamais vu autant. Mais, pour les musiciens grecs, c’était la galère ordinaire : peu de concerts, payés en fonction des entrées et pas avec un cachet fixe. Puis la crise économique a commencé à faire des victimes. Certains d’entre nous ont essayé de trouver des dates dans le reste de l’Europe mais c’est très difficile, du fait de la position excentrée de la Grèce. Impossible, par exemple, d’aller jouer en voiture en France. Nous devons prendre l’avion, ce qui nous handicape.



Du côté de la scène musicale, les choses changent. Le public semble mieux réagir. Il écoute plus attentivement qu’il y a dix ans. Les musiciens grecs ont commencé à saisir que s’ils s’adressaient au public plutôt que de jouer entre eux, les mélomanes viendraient plus souvent. Quand j’ai commencé, en 1994, il n’y avait que 4 ou 5 clubs qui programmaient le genre de musique que je joue, entre jazz et musiques traditionnelles. Aujourd’hui, il y en a une centaine. C’est un bon présage. Les patrons de ces clubs ne sont pas très mûrs, ils ne savent pas encore très bien ce qu’ils font mais j’ai l’impression qu’ils se professionnalisent. Depuis l’année dernière, ils commencent à programmer des musiciens grecs. Même des clubs importants, où tout le monde rêvait de jouer, se tournent maintenant vers nous.

L’une des choses que j’ai le plus aimées cette année a été l’ouverture du Centre Culturel Onassis, à Athènes. C’est une salle qui est ouverte au genre de musique qu’on fait. Ils n’ont pas peur de consacrer du temps et de l’argent à la promotion de musiciens grecs. Ils sont très prévenants. Nous avons d’excellents musiciens en Grèce mais, à cause de notre isolement, il leur est très difficile de jouer en dehors du pays. Takis Paterelis, Giorgos Kontrafouris, Dimitris Sevdalis (un pianiste de latin jazz exceptionnel), Haig Yiazdjian, Kyriakos Kalaitzidis et bien d’autres se battent depuis plus de 40 ans.

En ce qui me concerne, les trois choses que je retiendrai de cette année :

Le disque des 10 ans de carrière de Gilad Atzmon, The tide has changed. Une synthèse très réussie de son travail avec l’Orient House Ensemble.

Le concert de Hugh Masekela au Womex. Je voulais voir Masekela depuis plus de 20 ans. Je l’ai vu !

Mon concert en compagnie de mon professeur et ami, Simon Shaheen. C’était un grand honneur. Je m’en souviendrai toujours.

2011 a donc été une année contradictoire. Musicalement, nous sommes allés de l’avant. Economiquement, politiquement et socialement, nous reculons. Espérons que la musique nous permettra d’éviter la catastrophe. N’oubliez pas : "Sortez et soutenez la musique live !".


Alekos Vretos - Mondomix - Le magazine des musiques et cultures dans le monde

Greek oudist, pianist and composer Alekos Vretos has been merging jazz, Arabic, Greek and Latin music in a masterful blend of sounds from traditional instruments, such as the oud or the nay. As a bandleader, he has developed a unique atmosphere for his music: keeping traditional sound in the front line, he expands it through jazz improvisation and exploding rhythmic development. We have met Alekos for a little chat...
1- What were your biggest musical influences & where do you get your inspiration from ?
I have so many, it would be impossible to mention them all. But I can name a few from all the parts of music that I am involved with. Miles Davis is a big influence so is Coltrane for jazz, Takis Paterelis and Markos Alexiou also. From my Eastern side it would be Simon Shaheen, Marcel Khalife, Anuar Brahem also I would include Haig Yazdjian.My inspiration comes from talking to people like myself. Exchanging views and opinions about life, music, politics even the jokes get me to put it to music.


2- How did you choose to play this instrument which is not very usual in jazz ? What make it special to you ?
It came to my hands by way of a friend who is not longer with us, a great guitar player by the name Christos Karakatsanis. He brought it to school in Boston where we were both studying at Berklee and I fell in love with its sound mostly and the ability to produce more than the 12 notes of western music. The aristocratic and soft sound of it got me right away and turned me over to the study of Arabic music. Now I merge both.


3- How would you characterize your music ? Jazz, Ethnic, world ? it has been written that your music is “… a clever mix of Arabic, Jazz, Latin and Greek elements, a World-Jazz genre if you please” Do you think it is a right description ?
World - Jazz is fine by me. The description you mention is written by me so yes I do think it is quite descriptive about my music. Arabic music cause of the melodies, jazz approach to things, Latin elements because I love latin music and its multi rhythmic context and Greek elements because I'm Greek and Greek music is in my DNA I suppose. Though I don't rule out funk, fusion and any other genre that I might like or played before. Good music is good music wherever it comes from as Miles used to say.


4- Your last CD Mergin was released in 2009, and got nice reviews. Today you are about to release a new one. Could you talk to us about it. Quite a different approach than Mergin', my new CD is more mature and it states its bussines right away. It is all about the improve and a sound that balances all the elements we use with a far greater musicality than before. Dimitris Sevdalis, Dimitris Klonis, Dimitris Christopoulos, Eleni Vasileiadi, my self and Spiros Kassimis our sound engineer have been working on the project for a long time now and the music has been shaped by us in our own unique way. With the great guest appearnces of Harris Lambrakis, Vaggelis Paraskevaidis and Kostas Meretakis I believe that the CD will be a fresh new look in the thing we do interpolating jazz with everything else.


5- What would you like to do next ?
I would like for the band to tour extensively in order to bond more and make new music. In a conversation with Herbie Hancock in the Megaron in 2008, he said that the best time to go in to the studio is right after a tour. So basically I would like to play more in order to create new projects and new music. I have been thinking of doing my music with a band from Senegal for sometime now, after a suggestion by a friend of mine that manages the band. The band likes the idea also and I'm trying to find the funding (abroad unfortunately) in order to do it.


6- You have collaborated with legendary composer Mikis Theodorakis, as well as Gilad Atzmon, Simon Shaheen, Haig Yazdjian, Takis Paterelis and many others . With which musician you have not collaborated with and you would like to ?
The collaborations you mention were cornerstones for me. I learned a lot and went ahead with them. There are of course, musicians I would like to play with that I haven't. To name a few, Ron Carter would be the first among them...though I'm way over my head, but you never know. Marcel Khlaife, Anuar Brahem, Jamey Haddad, Ara Dinkjian, Glen Velez (though I have played with him unofficially), Ibrahim Maalouf among others and all the Greek players because I believe we all should play with each other. Great things can come out of our collaborations with each other.


7- A comment on Greek jazz musicians you know ?
I could say a lot about everybody because I have been in the game for more than 20 years. In a really quick way: Markos Alexiou, the pioneer of jazz in Greece, his approach in piano playing is out of this world, great teacher. Takis Paterelis, our best jazz musician and educator. All should learn from him. Giorgos Kontrafouris, the worker, great player, all work and no talk, fabulous character, great patron of the younger generation. Dimitris Sevdalis, bomb piano player, great collaborator for more than 6 years. Dimitris Klonis, dear friend, great drummer, I love his approach towards my music a lot. Dimitris Christopoulos, is one of our international musicians and the best bass in the Latin genre.Great players, friends and colleagues are also: Pantelis Benetatos, Yiotis Samaras, Yiannis Papatriantafyllou,Periklis Trivolis, Kostis Christodoulou, Ntinos Manos, Kostas Patsiotis, Dimitris Pantelias, Yiorgos Krommydas and so many others that I appreciate very much as personalities and musicians.


8- Anything else you like to say about jazz in Greece ….
Jazz music in Greece got very big over the past 15 years. Now we have not only good educated players but people that work around jazz such as promoters, bookers, publicists, websites about jazz (such as Jazzonline.gr that was one of the first, if not the first and it is doing a great job promoting the Greek Jazz Scene), etc. All of these activities are coming together to create a solid Jazz Scene like the ones in Europe and the USA. We are not there yet, but we will get there if we protect our genre like we should. Collaborations with players from abroad, we playing abroad, constantly demanding support from fans and funding from private and/or government sources, "teaching" the club scene that our music is an art and we are not there just to entertain the audiences. We should fight to get our place that belongs to us in the Greek music scene in general so we can be economically independent so we can nurture our talent to the highest levels. I believe that in 10 years from now we will have our place in a global scale like many of us deserve. - Patricia Graire

The sonic landscape, broadened by the presence of guest player Alekos K. Vretos, joined the foursome in covers like the famous Misirlou. This characteristic Greek tune, used in the opening credits of Pulp Fiction, helped connect tradition with the avant garde. - Live at your local

It’s a rare bird that picks up the oud and decides, hey, I’m gonna lead a jazz ensemble. Well, your rare bird of the day is Alekos Vretos. Mixing Arabic, Latin, and Greek musics into a jazz framework, and with his oud in the lead, he somehow has created an album that absolutely swings. Mergin’ was released back in 2009 and doesn’t appear to have stayed in the spotlight very long (if at all)… exactly the kind of album I created the Safety Net to catch.

Your album personnel: Alekos Vretos (oud), Konstantina Kyriazi (violin), Bassam Saba Nay (flute), Takis Paterelis (soprano sax), Dimitris Sevdalis (piano), Giorgos Roulos (double bass), April Centrone (Arabic percussion: riqq, bendir, shakers), Luis Enrique Bu Pasqual Kikitcha (Latin percussion: congas, bongos, shakers), and Seraphim Mpelos (drums). - Bird is the Worm

From the @Athens Voice (official) Alekos Vretos A musician that combines the traditional music element with jazz and he's behind of many productions involving great names of the world jazz scene. The 100+1 most influential persons in the Greek Music Scene. www.athensvoice.gr - Athens Voice

Who hasn’t dreamed about spending a week or two on a Greek island? The weather, the food, the paradisiacal beaches—all of these things point to Greece as the ultimate heavenly destination.

If booking a flight to Mikonos seems impossible at the moment, do not worry. Travel with us through the music of Alekos Vretos, an exceptional oudist, pianist and composer who specializes in merging jazz, Arabic, Greek and Latin elements in a masterful blend of sounds from traditional instruments.

Thanks to his originality and exceptional talent, Vretos has been able to perform in some of the most breath-taking venues on earth, such as the ancient theatre in Argos.

If you are eager to find yourself on the middle of a beautiful Greek island, watching the sunset and eating some tasty moussaka, play the song “Foud” by Vretos, a stunning composition that demonstrates the richness and beauty of Greek music.

What stands out the most about “Foud” is the fact that it can be traditional and unconventional at the same time. In the first few seconds, the song has a classic Mediterranean sound and then quickly turns into a modern and hip composition. Then it goes back to the classical sounds once more. The piece is so interesting, we can certainly get why it won the World Channel prize on OurStage in July of 2010.

“Foud” is part of Vretos’s first album Mergin, a bold and tasteful blend of jazz and Arabic improvisation that, according to the artist, raised oud playing to unexpected territories. Mergin was released in 2009 by Jadeo Music, an indie record and management company that Vretos founded in Athens, featuring world, jazz and classical music and fellow artists.

Besides “Foud,” Vretos has other exciting songs on OurStage. “Sonja” was among the Top 10 in the World Channel back in July of 2009. Another Vretos favorite among OurStage fans is “Conversation with Simon,” a song that Vretos dedicated to the Arabic musician Simon Shaheen. - OurStage Magazine

“Mergin’ is an excellent musical journey, a reason for one to smile” - Sotiris Mpekas, DIFONO (17th February 2010)

“Drifting musical winds carry you away on melodic journeys. You can feel the salt of the Mediterranean sea, the aroma of the Arabic seas and the wet air of the Caribbean”.
NAUTEMPORIKI (18th March 2010) - NAUTEMPORIKI (18th March 2010)

“An overall interesting and pleasant debut from a very promising musician”
Yiannis Stefanakos, JAZZIN’ (March 2010) - Yiannis Stefanakos, JAZZIN’ (March 2010)

“Jazz music as played by Vretos belongs only to him”
ETHNOS OUT (18th February 2010) - ETHNOS OUT (18th February 2010)

“Mergin’ is as beautiful as the freedom of the musicians that recorded their passion” - Yiannis Panagopoulos, ETHNOS OUT (20th January 2010)

“North-South and Eastern-Western winds that merges, in a drifting way, genres, modes, conditions, cultures, expressions and feelings…. A crossroads CD that was missing from the music, a link of a chain of new style that completed a void in music.” - Kornilios Diamantopoulos, JAZZ & JAZZ (February 2010)

‘E’ 01-05-2005
META....MOUSIKIS......... By G. CHRISTODOULOPOULOS

A CARAVAN OF WESTERN-TRAINED GREEK MUSICIANS, EXPLORES IN DETAILTHE ARTISTIC TRADITION OF THE MIDDLE-EAST, GUIDED BY THE OUTSTANDING OUD SOLOIST, STUDENT OF MASTER SIMON SHAHEEN, ALEKOS K. VRETOS. GREAT COLLABORATION OF NIKOS AND YIASEMI SARAGOUDA. - ‘E’ 01-05-2005

ATHINORAMA 2005

CD REVIEWS BY........A. ZILOS

WITH SIMILAR ARTISTIC SENSITIVITY MUSICIANS AS G. KONSTANTINIDIS & D. THEOLOGITIS (VIOLIN), B. KARAHOUTIS(BASS), D. EMMANOUIL(PERC), N. SARAGOUDAS (OUD), A. SKANDALOS(QANUN) AND OTHERS, ALEKOS K. VRETOS(OUD) & P. PAPADOPOULOS(VIOLIN) LET THE GREEK SOUL TO SHARE ITS HISTORY WITH THE ARABIC - ATHINORAMA 2005

SUNDAY ETHNOS OUT 12-18 DECEMBER 2004

CD REVIEW

GREEK.......CARAVAN IN THE MIDDLE-EAST

A MUSICAL BRIDGE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST IS FORMED BY THIS INTERESTING CD RELEASE. EXACTLY LIKE GREECE IS THE CROSS ROAD BETWEEN EAST AND WEST, THE SAME APPLIES TO THE PIECES OFTHIS ALBUM AS THEY ARE DISTINGUISHED BY THE HARMONIC CO-EXISTENSE OF ELEMENTS FROM THE EASTERN AND WESTERN “PALETTE”.

THE TITLE IS DESCRIBING THE MUSICAL CONTENT. “YUNAN” MEANS GREECE IN ARABIC. AND THE SUBTITLE IS MORE SELF EXPANATORY “A GREEK MUSIC CARAVAN IN THE MIDDLE EAST”. THIS GREEK CARAVAN IS THE “MELITI ENSEMBLE” , A GROUP OF GREEK MUSICIANS WITH CLASSICAL WESTERN TRAINING AND INFLUENCED BY GREEK TRADITION. THEY TRY TO EXPLORE A DIFFERENT MELODIC WORLD, THE ARABIC ONE, THUS CREATING A UNIQUE DIALOGUE BETWEEN SOUNDS AND RYTHMS. THROUGH THIS DIALOGUE ALL THE SIMILAR EFFECTS THAT HAVE BEEN CREATED TROUGH THOUSANDS OF YEARS BETWEEN THE TWO CULTURES ARE REVEALED.

THE ARRANGEMENTS AND COMPOSITIONS BY ALEKOS K. VRETOS, PAPADOPOULOS, N. SARAGOUDAS PRESENT QUITE AN INTEREST. TRADITIONAL INSTRUMENTS LIKE THE OUD, QANUN ETC. CREATE CHARMING RESULT THAT TRAVELS THE LISTENER.

IN THE ERA THAT WORLD MUSIC INFLUENCES ARE SIMPLY COPIED WITH NO MEANING THIS RECORDING WORK COMES TO UNDERLINE THAT TWO DIFFERENT MUSICAL CULTURES CAN CO-EXIST WITH OUT EACH ONE LOOSING ITS ORIGINAL CHARACTER. - SUNDAY ETHNOS OUT

TA NEA WEEKEND 4-5 DECEMBER 2004

WITH EASTERN SENT.......... By H. PONTIDA

INDIPENDENT PRODUCTION BY SIX OUTSTANDING MUSICIANS- MELITI ENSEMBLE - THAT GIVE Α FLAVOUR OF THE INTERACTION OF THE ARABIC AND GREEK MUSICAL TRADITION. - TA NEA WEEKEND

APOFASI 23-12- 2004
WHAT TO HEAR AND NOT DURING THE CHRISTMASS HOLIDAYS
By..........C. SIAFKOS

YOUNG AND EFFECTIVE WITH AN INSPIRATION IN WAYS THAT COMBINE EAST AND WEST, ARE THE MEMBERS OF THE “MELITI ENSEMBLE”. THEY COME WITH THE ALBUM “YUNAN” WITH A NEW MUSIC PROPOSITION. - APOFASI

Greek text: Ο Αλέκος Βρέτος βρίσκει εδώ τον ήχο και το υλικό που του δίνει ένα ξεκάθαρο στίγμα τόσο στην εγχώρια μουσική σκηνή, όσο και εκτός συνόρων. Ο ουτίστας, πολυσχιδής μουσικός ήταν σαν να ακολουθούσε μία νοητή fastforward κίνηση τα προηγούμενα χρόνια, που ήταν όμως στην πραγματικότητα η φυσιολογική, όσο και αγωνιώδης προσπάθεια συλλογής όλων εκείνων των στοιχείων που συναποτελούν πλέον το κράμα του χαρακτηριστικού του μουσικού «ίχνους»… - See more at: http://www.musicpaper.gr/paradounai-lavein/item/5838-alekos-vretos-k-on-top-apo-ti-folk-eos-tin-evryteri-world-music#sthash.QGwNCZ4h.dpuf
Πηγή: www.musicpaper.gr - Musicpaper.gr

Αν ακούς τη μουσική με ψυχή, δεν το χάνεις τούτο εδώ το άλμπουμ. Το λέω “τζαζ” γιατί μ΄αρέσει η ελευθερία του, η χαρά της περιπλάνησής του, το μουσικό ένστικτο του Αλέκου Βρέτου και η θαλπωρή των ήχων που αναδύει. Είναι ανάγλυφο και ξεχωριστό. Και, ειδικά για εκείνους τους ακροατές που τινάζουν από πάνω τους τη σκόνη του μουσικού καναπέ και δεν βολεύονται σε κυκλωτικές κινήσεις.

Ο μουσικός μας εδώ έχει όραμα και ξεπερνά τις ευκολίες. Από την άλλη (το μετράω αυτό) δεν δείχνει να τον νοιάζουν φιγούρες κι εντυπωσιασμοί καθώς ο ίδιος παρασύρεται μόνο και μαγεύεται από τις μουσικές που τον συγκινούν. «Χορεύει» με την δική του αντίληψη των ήχων πάνω σε κομμάτια των Anuar Brahem (το Perfum De Gitane), Ara Dinkjian (το Invisible Lover), Gilad Atzmon (το London to Gaza) με τρεις δικές του συνθέσεις να «γράφουν» έντονα συναρπαστικές διαδρομές. Το Cactusτου (που με κερδίζει διαφορετικά κάθε φορά που το ακούω) το βάζω άνετα στα πιο όμορφα ακούσματα της χρονιάς (όποιας χρονιάς θέλετε, μην κολλάμε σε αριθμούς), το Κ on Top–αφιερωμένο στον γιό του, Κωσνταντή-δίνει αμέσως το στίγμα του άλμπουμ και το Idea «σερβίρεται» σαν τσάι ζεστό με όλη τη τζαζ καρδιά του.

Η παραγωγή είναι αφοπλιστικά προσεγμένη, με τους όλους τους πρωταγωνιστές γύρω από τον εξαιρετικό Βρέτο και το ούτι του-Ελένη Βασιλειάδη, Δημήτρη Σεβδαλή, Δημήτρη Χριστόπουλο και Δημήτρη Κλωνή και τους guests Βαγγέλη Παρασκευαϊδη, Χάρη Λαμπράκη, Κώστα Μερετάκη-να εκφράζονται με άκρως δημιουργικό και αναζωογονητικό τρόπο, κάθε άλλο παρά δεμένοι σε αυστηρούς ρόλους.
Να προσθέσω κι αυτό: Μην καρφιτσώσετε στο K on Top, καμία ετικέτα, αφήστε το ελεύθερο και ακούστε το έτσι, όπως αυτό θα αποκαλύπτει τις μουσικές του.
(κυκλοφορεί από την Jadeo/Ankh)
It's your blender too ... - Maria Markouli