ABOUT CHRISTOS RAFALIDES Born in Kozani, Greece, Christos Rafalides can’t remember a time when he wasn’t surrounded by music. His older brother led him to piano at the age of seven and at fourteen he began studies in classical percussion before touring Greece with various Jazz groups.

In the early 90’s, Rafalides received a scholarship from Berklee College of Music and moved to Boston and later to Manhattan where he studied with acclaimed jazz vibraphonist Joe Locke. Just after, he began to perform on the New York City jazz scene alongside artists such as Ravi Coltrane and Antonio Sanchez.

He rapidly found his personal voice with 'Manhattan Vibes’ that appeared at the Blue Note and many other cutting edge venues. In 2002, “Manhattan Vibes” with John Benitez (bass), Steve Hass (drums) and guest star trumpeter Randy Brecker was rated as one of the top recording of the year.

Christos collaboration with his mentor Joe Locke led to the recording of “Van Gogh by Numbers” in 2005 followed by numerous superb CD’s (Echo - 2008, Dark Sand – 2008, We two – 2012, Blue November – 2013 and Point Two – 2014) and outstanding performances notably with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis.

Very active in ‘Masterclasses’ (based on his New-York multi-cultural experience and his travel around the world), Christos is also very eager to guide younger musicians.

Christos is endorsed by Musser Vibraphones and Mike Balter mallets and makes his home in New York City.

ABOUT « NEAR & DEAR »

As Christos said : “The songs in this album are near and dear to me, representing my induction to the world of American music, the world of jazz”.

The vibraphone trio has a unique sound, not as widely heard as piano or guitar trios. In this recording I am presenting arrangements of some classic compositions from the Great American Songbook along with two original tunes. The process of doing so has been challenging, yet very rewarding and this is the result of a harmonious partnership with three exceptional musicians: Mike Pope (US) on bass and top notch sound engineering, Mauricio Zottarelli (Brazil) on drums, and Petros Klampanis (Greece) on bass. Our artistic paths crossed in New York, the jazz capital, and it was here that we got our sound together.

The trio has performed in United States, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain & Greece.

LINE-UP

Christos Rafalides - vibraphone Mike Pope - bass (tracks 1,3,5,9,10, 12) Petros Klampanis - bass (tracks 2,4,6,7,8,11,12R) Mauricio Zottarelli – drums

MIKE POPE

Mike Pope is best described as a rare triple threat in the bass world. Equally adept at both acoustic bass and 6-string electric bass guitar, he is a world-renowned jazz solo artist, sideman, composer and teacher. Additonally, he is a well-respected designer of high-end amplifiers, preamps and onboard active electronics. Raised in Ohio, Mike attended the University of North Texas State, ultimately migrating to New York City at the recommendation of Michael Brecker, whom he met during a clinic at the school. Pope hit the ground running and was soon performing and recording with Michael and Randy Brecker, Chuck Loeb, Mike Stern, Joe Locke, Jeff “Tain” Watts and Al DiMeola. He released two solo albums, Walk Your Dogma and Lay of the Land, while amassing additional credits with Chick Corea, Bill Bruford, David Sanborn, Geofrrey Keezer and Manhattan Transfer.

PETROS KLAMPANIS

Born in Zakynthos, Greece, bassist/composer Petros Klampanis has absorbed a vibrant palette of colors over the course of a varied musical life journey, including Mediterranean and Balkan folk music of his native Greece, classical colorings of studies in Athens, Amsterdam and New York City, and vibrant splashes of musical pigment developed on the diverse NYC jazz scene through collaborations with such innovators as Greg Osby, Jean-Michel Pilc, Shai Maestro, Oded Tzur and Ari Hoenig. Also an in-demand educator, Klampanis has given workshops internationally and serves as a guest lecturer at Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio and the Ionian Academy of Music in Greece.

Gianluca Renzi

_ Gianluca Renzi is a New York City based bass player, composer, arranger and sound engineer. He is an internationally acclaimed jazz musician and he currently performs on a regular basis with some of the world most known jazz artists. He has performed in some of the world most important Jazz Festival: Umbria Jazz (Italy), Marciac Jazz Festival (France), San Fracisco SFJazz (USA), Richmond Jazz Festival (USA), Istambul Jazz Festival (Turkey), Shanghai Jazz Festival (China), Jazz al Parque (Colombia), Jarasum Jazz Festival (South Korea), Kanazawa Jazz Festival (Japan), San Javier Jazz Festival (Spain), Guimaraes Jazz Festival (Portugal) and many more…

He’s also performed in some of the main internationally known Jazz Venues: Birdland (New York), Lincoln Center (new York), Jazz Alley (Seattle), Velvet Note (Atlanta), Blue Note Tokyo (Japan), Blue Note Nagoya (Japan), Cotton Club Tokyo, Sunside Jazz Club (Paris), and many others.

His music collaborations includes, among the others musicians like Alex Sipiaguin, Ari Hoenig, Orrin Evans, Loston Harris, Mark Whit eld, Joe Locke, Bobby Watson, Bruce Cox, Steve Lacy, Carl Allen, Steve Grossman, Gary Smulyan, Jon Davis, Clarence Penn, Gene Jackson, Adam Nussbaum, Rick Margitza, Marcus Baylor, Eric Mc Pherson, Billy Harper, Orrin Evans, Giovanni Mirabassi, Enrico Pieranunzi, Fabrizio Bosso, Flavio Boltro, Rosario Giuliani, Antonio Fara, Franco Ambrosetti.

MAURICIO ZOTTARELLI Brazilian born, New York City-based drummer/composer Mauricio Zottarelli has been on the forefront of the Jazz, Latin and Brazilian music scenes for many years. Mauricio moved to the U.S. in 1999 after winning a scholarship award to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Since his move to New York City in 2006, he has become one of the most sought after drummers on the scene.

Zottarelli is credited in more than 70 albums so far in his career, and has worked and shared the stage with some of the most important and notable artists of today, crossing over many musical styles. Some of them are Hiromi, Eliane Elias, Marc Johnson, Prasanna, Lee Ritenour, Esperanza Spalding, Richard Bona, Paquito D’Rivera, Joe Lovano, Richard Galliano.

Following his growing interest in music education, Mauricio teaches regularly in the NYC area, and has done workshops/clinics in Brazil, Europe and the USA.

ABOUT CHRISTOS RAFALIDES Born in Kozani, Greece, Christos Rafalides can’t remember a time when he wasn’t surrounded by music. His older brother led him to piano at the age of seven and at fourteen he began studies in classical percussion before touring Greece with various Jazz groups.

In the early 90’s, Rafalides received a scholarship from Berklee College of Music and moved to Boston and later to Manhattan where he studied with acclaimed jazz vibraphonist Joe Locke. Just after, he began to perform on the New York City jazz scene alongside artists such as Ravi Coltrane and Antonio Sanchez.

He rapidly found his personal voice with 'Manhattan Vibes’ that appeared at the Blue Note and many other cutting edge venues. In 2002, “Manhattan Vibes” with John Benitez (bass), Steve Hass (drums) and guest star trumpeter Randy Brecker was rated as one of the top recording of the year.

Christos collaboration with his mentor Joe Locke led to the recording of “Van Gogh by Numbers” in 2005 followed by numerous superb CD’s (Echo - 2008, Dark Sand – 2008, We two – 2012, Blue November – 2013 and Point Two – 2014) and outstanding performances notably with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis.

Very active in ‘Masterclasses’ (based on his New-York multi-cultural experience and his travel around the world), Christos is also very eager to guide younger musicians.

Christos is endorsed by Musser Vibraphones and Mike Balter mallets and makes his home in New York City.

ABOUT « NEAR & DEAR »

As Christos said : “The songs in this album are near and dear to me, representing my induction to the world of American music, the world of jazz”.

The vibraphone trio has a unique sound, not as widely heard as piano or guitar trios. In this recording I am presenting arrangements of some classic compositions from the Great American Songbook along with two original tunes. The process of doing so has been challenging, yet very rewarding and this is the result of a harmonious partnership with three exceptional musicians: Mike Pope (US) on bass and top notch sound engineering, Mauricio Zottarelli (Brazil) on drums, and Petros Klampanis (Greece) on bass. Our artistic paths crossed in New York, the jazz capital, and it was here that we got our sound together.

The trio has performed in United States, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain & Greece.

LINE-UP

Christos Rafalides - vibraphone Mike Pope - bass (tracks 1,3,5,9,10, 12) Petros Klampanis - bass (tracks 2,4,6,7,8,11,12R) Mauricio Zottarelli – drums

MIKE POPE

Mike Pope is best described as a rare triple threat in the bass world. Equally adept at both acoustic bass and 6-string electric bass guitar, he is a world-renowned jazz solo artist, sideman, composer and teacher. Additonally, he is a well-respected designer of high-end amplifiers, preamps and onboard active electronics. Raised in Ohio, Mike attended the University of North Texas State, ultimately migrating to New York City at the recommendation of Michael Brecker, whom he met during a clinic at the school. Pope hit the ground running and was soon performing and recording with Michael and Randy Brecker, Chuck Loeb, Mike Stern, Joe Locke, Jeff “Tain” Watts and Al DiMeola. He released two solo albums, Walk Your Dogma and Lay of the Land, while amassing additional credits with Chick Corea, Bill Bruford, David Sanborn, Geofrrey Keezer and Manhattan Transfer.

PETROS KLAMPANIS

Born in Zakynthos, Greece, bassist/composer Petros Klampanis has absorbed a vibrant palette of colors over the course of a varied musical life journey, including Mediterranean and Balkan folk music of his native Greece, classical colorings of studies in Athens, Amsterdam and New York City, and vibrant splashes of musical pigment developed on the diverse NYC jazz scene through collaborations with such innovators as Greg Osby, Jean-Michel Pilc, Shai Maestro, Oded Tzur and Ari Hoenig. Also an in-demand educator, Klampanis has given workshops internationally and serves as a guest lecturer at Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio and the Ionian Academy of Music in Greece.

Gianluca Renzi

_ Gianluca Renzi is a New York City based bass player, composer, arranger and sound engineer. He is an internationally acclaimed jazz musician and he currently performs on a regular basis with some of the world most known jazz artists. He has performed in some of the world most important Jazz Festival: Umbria Jazz (Italy), Marciac Jazz Festival (France), San Fracisco SFJazz (USA), Richmond Jazz Festival (USA), Istambul Jazz Festival (Turkey), Shanghai Jazz Festival (China), Jazz al Parque (Colombia), Jarasum Jazz Festival (South Korea), Kanazawa Jazz Festival (Japan), San Javier Jazz Festival (Spain), Guimaraes Jazz Festival (Portugal) and many more…

He’s also performed in some of the main internationally known Jazz Venues: Birdland (New York), Lincoln Center (new York), Jazz Alley (Seattle), Velvet Note (Atlanta), Blue Note Tokyo (Japan), Blue Note Nagoya (Japan), Cotton Club Tokyo, Sunside Jazz Club (Paris), and many others.

His music collaborations includes, among the others musicians like Alex Sipiaguin, Ari Hoenig, Orrin Evans, Loston Harris, Mark Whit eld, Joe Locke, Bobby Watson, Bruce Cox, Steve Lacy, Carl Allen, Steve Grossman, Gary Smulyan, Jon Davis, Clarence Penn, Gene Jackson, Adam Nussbaum, Rick Margitza, Marcus Baylor, Eric Mc Pherson, Billy Harper, Orrin Evans, Giovanni Mirabassi, Enrico Pieranunzi, Fabrizio Bosso, Flavio Boltro, Rosario Giuliani, Antonio Fara, Franco Ambrosetti.

MAURICIO ZOTTARELLI Brazilian born, New York City-based drummer/composer Mauricio Zottarelli has been on the forefront of the Jazz, Latin and Brazilian music scenes for many years. Mauricio moved to the U.S. in 1999 after winning a scholarship award to study at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Since his move to New York City in 2006, he has become one of the most sought after drummers on the scene.

Zottarelli is credited in more than 70 albums so far in his career, and has worked and shared the stage with some of the most important and notable artists of today, crossing over many musical styles. Some of them are Hiromi, Eliane Elias, Marc Johnson, Prasanna, Lee Ritenour, Esperanza Spalding, Richard Bona, Paquito D’Rivera, Joe Lovano, Richard Galliano.

Following his growing interest in music education, Mauricio teaches regularly in the NYC area, and has done workshops/clinics in Brazil, Europe and the USA.

Agent:
Marina Koren
marina.koren@soundkitchen.berlin
+49 (0) 17626765128