THE EXARAS / VILLAFRANCA PROJECT Performances: Friday and Saturday, April 27 & 28. 2012 Time: 21.30 Ticket: 20€ Ticket sale: From 23d of March until 25th of April at Discophile shop, 34 Panemistimiou, Athens
Straight from New York, the internationally acclaimed jazz musicians Spiros Exaras and Ellio Villafranca are landing in Athens and particularly at the Center for the Arts Beton7 for two unique performances. A major collaboration in the world of music has recently taken place in New York City between internationally acclaimed Cuban Jazz pianist Elio Villafranca and world-renowned Greek Classical Jazz guitarist Spiros Exaras. And what has emerged is the creation of a unique sound combining the passion of Cuba’s African Diaspora with the mysteries of Greek musical heritage in the Jazz experience of these two masters.
Over the last year, Elio's career has developed substantially with the international critical acclaim of his latest album, "The Source In Between" and performances in New York at Lincoln Center, the Blue Note, Caramoor Music Festival and a long list of European tour dates at clubs, concerts and major music festivals. In the course of this he’s worked with such Jazz legends as Wynton Marsalis, Pat Martino, Sonny Fortune, Eddie Henderson, Johnny Pacheco, Horacio "El Negro" Hernández and Lenny White, to name a few. Elio has also been honored by BMI with a Jazz Guarantee Award and recently received the first annual Heineken Green Ribbon Master Artist Grant to create a concerto for a Mariachi ensemble and symphonic orchestra. Spiros’s credits include performances with eminent Greek composers such as M. Frangoulis, M. Theodorakis, E. Reboutsika, K. Hatjis and E. Andriopoulos and has performed and recorded internationally with such artists as Shirley Bassey, Randy Brecker, legendary Jazz singer Mark Murphy and Grammy Award winner David Valentin. He has also crossed over into pop music being the featured guitar soloist on Mariah Carey’s hit single “My All”. His recent CD “Phrygianics” was released by Blue Note Records to major critical acclaim, in addition to composing music for several films and theatrical plays.
In performance, theses two master musicians play original pieces, traditional Greek and Cuban songs, and their own arrangements of several jazz standards. Their first recording is soon to be released.
