Athens Concert
ECM 2205/06 (2011)
The result of a ten-year friendship and collaboration of the jazz legend Charles Lloyd and Maria Farantouri, this cd (live recording of the concert at the Herod’s Atticus Odeon, on June 4, 2010) is a unique experience not only for the listener but also for the artists themselves. The Afro-American element penetrates the Greek tradition and transforms it into an unprecedented sound. Charles Lloyd, an incomparable Dream Weaver, tames with his winds the momentum of Jason, Reuben and Eric, who run the traditional on a frantic path to the modern, crossing the bridge orchestrated by Takis Farazis while Socrates Sinopoulos measures it with his bow. At the same time, the voice of Maria Farantouri unites yesterday with today, opening the time and the place: suddenly the bustling Alexandria Agora is heard in the heart of California and the waves in the New York port come dancing from Trebizond and Odessa.
Music: Charles Lloyd, Mikis Theodorakis, Heleni Karaindrou, Nikos Kypourgos
Poetry: George Seferis, Charles Lloyd, Mikis Theodorakis, Heleni Karaindrou, Lina Nikolakopoulou,
Maria Farantouri: voice
Charles Lloyd: tenor saxophone, flute, tarogato
Jason Moran: piano
Reuben Rogers: double-bass
Eric Harland: drums
Socrates Sinopoulos: lyra
Takis Farazis: piano & arrangements in Greek Suite Ι & ΙΙ
CD 1
01. I’ve kept a hold of my life
(M.Theodorakis – G.Seferis)
02. Dream Weaver
(Ch. Lloyd)
03. Blow Wind
(Ch. Lloyd)
04. Requiem
(Ch. Lloyd – Ag.Dimitrouka)
Greek Suite I
05. Hymn to the Holy Trinity
(Early Byzantine Hymn)
06. Upon the arid soil of my heart
(M.Theodorakis)
07. Above the gardens of paradise
(M.Theodorakis)
08. Voyage to Cythera
(Hel.Karaindrou)
CD 2
01. Prayer
(Ch. Lloyd)
Greek Suite II
02. My eyelid
(N.Kypourgos – L.Nikolakopoulou)
03. Margaritarenia
(Traditional of Hepirus)
04. My little sea
(Traditional of Aegean)
Greek Suite IΙΙ
05. Hepirotic Lament
(Traditional of Hepirus)
06. I burn and slowly melt
(Traditional of Hepirus)
07. Little lemon tree
(Traditional of Hepirus)
08. I forget and I’m glad
(Traditional of Hepirus)
09. The castle of the Sun
(Traditional of the Black Sea)
10. My Yanni
(Traditional of Hepirus)
