Event Overview: 8th Cyprus Jazz and World Music Showcase

 Hi Lovelies, 

As part of the blog rebranding, a new feature called “Event Overview” will be going live! I hope you are as excited as I am, because this new Corner of my blog will focus fully on cultural events that I’m attending, so get ready to read my thoughts on the symphony orchestra once again showcasing their talents, my favourite gallery hosting a new exhibition, and music or theatre festivals going on. 

As I live in Nicosia, Cyprus, the events will most probably be focused on this location, but I will be having a featured post of all new events going on which may be interesting to everyone! One thing I’d like to make clear is that my blog will mostly feature concerts, art exhibitions, ballet and opera and theatre performances (in English). The theatre is mostly because I don’t speak Greek at a level of going to theatre and understanding what’s going on. 

But let’s dive into today’s event! 

Today’s event is the 8th Cyprus Jazz & World Music Showcase! The event was held over two day period 26-27 November at the Rialto Theatre, Limassol and featured some amazing bands! This was my second time going to this festival and I was looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I was only able to attend the second day, and I did regret a bit not being able to go to the first day as well. 

 So, which bands were featured? Let’s take them one by one!

TRIO RONDINE

This was a newly formed band in 2021, and the drive of the musicians to create and share music during the pandemic is absolutely commendable.

The trio focuses on the Mediterranean music, which was a lovely opening for the concert, and I did enjoy it, however, I can’t say that they were my favourite. Probably because the ballads were not the music that I usually like to listen to, and probably I wasn’t able to get all the emotions from their performance. Maybe I’m picky, but accordion and I are not the biggest friends 🙈. 

Probably my favourite piece was the following (the video only shows the small part of the piece) 

I do wish the trio to continue their work, and explore more of the Mediterranean music and spread it to more people! 

ODYSSEAS TOUMAZOU TRIO

Probably my favourite band of the evening! The concert was not over and I was already searching for the bank on Apple Music to add the album to my library! 

The trio played 3 tracks from the album Ensticto (available on Apple Music) and each track was more amazing than the other! 

Odysseas was fantastic with his solos, but he was not the only one who blew my mind, George Koulas on the drums was having the time of his life. You could see that he was enjoying every second of the show, and his enthusiasm was contagious! I was bobbing my head and smiling (behind my mask) while enjoying his solos! 

Don’t believe me? 

And this was just 20 seconds of their fantastic performance! So, whether you are a fan of Jazz music, or even if you’re not, do check our their album! It’s AMAZING! 

ALEXIS KASINOS QUARTET FT MARIOS CHARALAMBOUS

Another fantastic band! Maybe I’m biased because there was a saxaphone, but the band was absolutely fantastic! Especially the pianist - Andreas Panteli! He’s solos accompanies by drums were just to die for! Not sure if I recorded a small part of him playing (I was way too concentrated on enjoying him masterfully playing the instrument to actually record him 🙈. 

The band was performing new original compositions, and I can’t wait for them to record the album to listen to all of the tracks together! 

ELEONORA ROUSSOU -  HARA

The last band of the evening, was there to spread the joy! As Eleonora has explained Hara in greek means joy, so the band was there to bring the joy, and they did! 

Their original compositions which are focused on human emotions, such as Joy, Mutuality and Love, were a fantastic way to end the show. 

While you can’t call me a huge Jazz fan, so maybe this was something completely new to me, but flute and Jazz are a FANTASTIC combination! Or maybe it was just Eleonora! Nevertheless it was a rollercoaster of emotions! 

If you enjoyed any of the above small videos, do check out the artists! 

And if you got interested, do not miss the festival next year! But until then many more interesting events are coming up! So do be on a lookout! 

December calendar with all interesting shows will be going live on the blog soon, so you can subscribe and have it in your calendar! 

XOXO

Katie