Giorgos Tabakis
Full Bio
Born in Athens – Greece in 1980.
He came into contact with music at the age of 10, when he met the guitarist-composer Costas Eliades with whom he started and completed his studies in classical guitar.
With years of apprenticeship by the internationally acclaimed composer / guitarist / improviser Andreas Georgiou, he was taught jazz guitar, jazz harmony, advanced music theory, improvisation, analysis of musical forms and structures, composition approaches etc. During his apprenticeship, he received a wide range of knowledge, stimulation and guidance as to the aesthetics and philosophy of music.
His experimental approach has also led him to explore and study various traditional and world instruments, such as the Indian sitar and sarod, the Aboriginal didgeridoo, multi-percussion, and others. During the same period he studied classical piano with the pianist and soprano Konstantina Mantziari.
His main interest in guitar playing lies both in its polyphonic approach –as a major harmonious instrument in contemporary music ensembles on/upon which compositions and improvisations are created- and in its solo role. Since 2007, he has been experimenting with alternative ways of playing/performing on 7string guitars, creating an intimate artistic style.
Through the special instrument GT 8 string MOOV guitar – made by George Behlivanoglou – reveals an artistic world rich in guitar ideas and techniques that offer comfort and space to the music and soundscapes that are created.
The aesthetic direction of his compositions is placed in the wider fields of contemporary European jazz. His guitar work spans multiple genres and is recognized for pushing the boundaries of guitar music by blending elements of contemporary classical, jazz, and avant-garde styles.
His 2020 cd Dual Nature with the German clarinetist Rebecca Trescher won the Global Music Award’s Silver Medal – Outstanding Achievement 2020. It was on the “best jazz on Bandcamp“, Lifo’s best list for new Greek releases, on the DIY section of the Downbeat magazine digital edition and had great reviews from journalists and european, US, UK jazz press.
In his new hEre nOw theN cd (September 2021) Giorgos Tabakis captures his personal view of the modern guitar, presenting a set of compositions and improvisations for solo 8 string guitar that focus on the broader modern music approach, assimilating elements and trends of modern classical, modern jazz, avant garde, progressive music, with the Greek sound being often present both melodic and rhythmically giving a result that is fresh and distinctive.
The album has gained international acclaim and distinctions, with over 40 rave reviews from major music publications across Europe, the US, Japan and Australia and was praised for its unique soundscape and visionary approach, featured on prominent music podcasts and received widespread attention from international media.
Concept / thoughts
What would have been the use and place of the ancient Greek lyre if it had continued to exist and evolve without “disappearing” for a huge period of 1600 years?
(The last written references to the lyre instrument were written in the 5th century AD)
If we consider that this instrument was the cornerstone of ancient Greek artistic, scientific, philosophical research – an instrument that, among other things, was played and studied by students in ancient Athens and other cities as a basic element of school education – an instrument that was the expression of the Apollonian Thought on life, in combination with the spirit of innovation, originality, and continuous evolution that inspired the scholars of the instrument and the wider society, we could easily conclude that the lyre would be the center of today’s musical developments.
With top-notch craftsmanship, using modern technologies & applications and in contact with the entire musical spectrum, it would continue to produce and share its special vibrations, vibrations of a multi-level and multi-dimensional reality that we have lost.
Performing concerts and recordings with the lyre in Greece and abroad, I have experienced the great interest of the public in this instrument, its sound, the unknown playing techniques and the possibilities it has, with the simultaneous admiration for the basic principles and information about ancient Greek music that the thorough research of recent decades has brought to the fore.
The rebirth of this magical instrument highlights a truly “other world”, forgotten but potentially active, waiting to be (re)discovered and given new life on a musical/philosophical/aesthetic level, achieving an experiential connection with the history and roots of Greek and European culture.
“In a world that is moving faster than ever, often losing all sense of identity, definition and destination, we bring our deep interest and love for ancient vibrations, redefining ancient musical thought as contemporary, which can exist in the present and coexist with the current musical and cultural reality, creating a sense of belonging”
Giorgos performs with his ‘highly athletic’ handmade lyres constracted by George Nikas & Palmos ancient instruments
https://palmosmusic.com/
