About
Born in Sweden.
Lived in Stockholm from 1981-1990 and studied with Alvaro Is Rojas (formerly with Josephine Baker, Grady Tate, Joe Farrell) and Ola Bengtson (head of Jazz Department, Stockholm Royal Academy).
Through 1990-1994 attended Berklee College of Music having partial scholarship (Magna Cum Laude, Professional Performance Achievement Division Award) and studied guitar with Jon Damian (tutor for Bill Frisell, Wayne Krantz, Kurt Rosenwinkel), and attended classes under the direction of Rick Peckham, Hal Crook, Fred Lipsius (Blood Sweat and Tears) as well as having external private lessons with Jerry Bergonzi.
Started working professionally in 1983. Since then has performed across all genres (Pop, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Greek folk music) in Sweden, USA, Serbia, Greece, Cyprus and England, with numerous appearances in live music venues, on Greek national TV and international festivals.
Since 2003 he holds a MMus (Masters in Music Performance) through Leeds University.
Currently teaching as a principal lecturer on BA Jazz, BA Pop (principal studies, ensembles) at Leeds College of Music (2003-present).
He has frequently performed all over England and Greece for the last 20 years, participating in tours and recordings as a leader and with world renowned artists, such as David Liebman (2005, 2010), Adam Nussbaum (2007, 2010, 2011), Greg Hutchinson (2015) and Ari Hoenig (2018).
Latest projects are with George Kontrafouris & Adam Nussbaum released on FMR records and a duo recording with Matt Anderson on New Jazz Records.
Organ Trio
The trio has been touring together since 2007. They are well established musicians with extensive profile and each member enjoys a distinguished and varied musical life with an impressive list of personal achievements.
The musicians are: Adam Nussbaum on drums, George Kontrafouris on organ and Jiannis Pavlidis on guitar.
The musical approach the trio follows is open with a strong reference on groove.The material is mostly original as well as reworked standards with a new twist, and with refreshingly quirky arrangements.
During the 2011 tour, the trio decided to record their first album, a decision made due to the natural chemistry between the three musicians. It was released in april 2013 through London based label, FMR records [FMRCD346].
Quartet / Quintet
The quartet format has started since the 2005 recording with the great Dave Liebman.
Last few years the personel had been mostly Matt Anderson on sax, Simon Read on bass, Sam Gardner on drums with the addition of Sam Leak on piano for the performance at Dimitria festival, October 2015, featuring the great Greg Hutchinson on drums.
Trio
The trio exists since 2006. While it is active, it is comprised by Dave Walsh on drums and Pete Turner on bass, as documented on the recording samples.
Other members have been Gary Jackson on bass and Cris Wright on drums.
They have performed all over the UK as well as in Thessaloniki jazz festival, September 2008.
Duo
Saxophonist Matt Anderson and guitarist Jiannis Pavlidis have spent a great deal of time playing together over the past five years in a variety of different contexts, however they are at their least constrained and most spontaneous when working in the format of their latest album, where they are heard simply as a duo.
On "Alone Together" they build on a shared passion for the music of the Great American Songbook, performing classic songs and jazz standards in an open and sometimes abstract manner which can only be achieved by two musicians with an intuitive feel for each others' next move.
"Alone Together" is a record in the purest sense of the word. A document of what happened over the course of a day in the studio. Recorded at "The Crypt", Liversedge, West Yorkshire.
Discography
David Liebman (s)
Rus Pearson (b)
Stale Birkeland (d)
Adam Nussbaum (d)
George Kontrafouris (o)
Jiannis Pavlidis (g)
Ntinos Manos (b)
Alexandros Spanidis (d)