MUSICIANS

andrea romani (flute, ney)

Jazz flautist of Italian origin and Ney player, disciple of the Turkish master Omer Erdogular. After several years spent in Istanbul, Paris and Athens, Andrea Romani released her first album, Cekirdek, “Alonisma Vtet” in 2017, under the Turkish label Kalan Muzik.

In 2019, Andrea Romani collaborated on the album Summation (Fresh Sound Records) by bassist www.ApostolosSideris.com, with New York pianist Leo Genovese. He also recorded in 2019 for the album “LOWN” by pianist Alexis Bajot-Nercessian. In 2021, he participates in the recording of the new album “Hane” by Apostolos Sideris.

At the same time, he founded an educational initiative on the makams - MakamOdyssey (www.MakamOdyssey.org) and organized Ottoman music master classes with Aliosman Erdogdular (ney) and Ahmet Erdogdular (voice).

In October 2021 he launched the first stage of the Jazz-Maqom project in Uzbekistan, with Anne Paceo (drums), Alexis Nercessian (piano) and Apostolos Sideris (double bass), www.Jazzmaqom.com, with a composition residency and two concerts in Tashkent (Uzbekistan). In addition to her native Italian, Andrea Romani speaks English, French, Turkish and Greek, and communicates musically in the cultures and traditions of these countries.

Apostolos sideris
(bass/compositions)

Apostolos Sideris was born in 1978 in Athens, Greece, where he had his first musical training, playing the classical flute. By the time he was 15 he had switched to the electric bass. It didn't take long for him to fall in love with the instrument ,and he was soon playing with various rock bands around Athens. By the time he was 17, his focus was directed towards Jazz music, something that led him to make the move and go to Boston, in order to attend Berklee.

During his time at Berklee, he picked up the upright bass and since then it has been his main instrument. While in Boston, he had the fortune to study with a number of exceptional bassists, including Ron Mahdi and John Lockwood

Following his stint in Boston, Apostolos moved to New York and earned his Master's degree in jazz Performance at the City College of NY, while being instructed by bass virtuoso, John Patitucci. During this time, and under the encouragement of Mr Patitucci, Apostolos started widening his musical horizons, drawing inspiration from a number of musical traditions beyond jazz, such us the music of his native country, the different styles coming from Brazil and South America in general as well as the sounds of the orient and North Africa.

Since then he has been freelancing around the States as well as abroad. He has performed with a wide array of musicians ranging from jazz masters such as drummer Clarence Penn, guitarists Lionel Loueke and Rez Abbasi and pianist Leo Genovese, to world music sensations such as composer and oudist Ara Dinkjian, Greek ECM recording artist Savina Yannatou, Syrian vocal master Youssef Khasab and Lebanese composer Ziad Rahbani.

In addition to being a performer, he is a devoted composer, writing in many different styles, ranging from Jazz to Middle Eastern and Latin influenced music. He currently resides in Istanbul Turkey and he had, until recently, been directing his creative energy mainly toward working with an Ethnic-Jazz group he co-founded, called MESEL. Recently he released his own jazz album called ‘Σummation’, which was released by Freshsound Records in Barcelona and which consists of his own compositions and improvisations, mixing modern jazz with Greek and Middle Eastern influenced themes.

In the fall of 2022, Apostolos released his second album ‘Hane', available on all digital platforms. It is an eclectic mix of various stylistic elements, showcasing the composer’s various influences, including his love for Jazz as well as electronic music and the sounds of his native Greece as well as South America and North Africa.

He is currently preparing g the release of his third project entitled 'Past Presented', featuring his sextet and further exploring ways to mix an eastern melodic sensibility with the energy and syncopation found in modern jazz.

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project in uzbekistan:

On the European side, the project depends on the vision of four musical artists: Andrea Romani (flute, ney, voice, composition), “Alonisma” project; Alexis Bajot-Nercessian (piano, composition); Anne Paceo on drums, and Apostolos Sideris (contrabass, voice, composition), “Summation.”