Alexia (Cypriot)
Encyclopedia
Alexia Vassiliou better known as Alexia, is a Cypriot
vocalist, musician, performer, singer who represented Cyprus twice in the Eurovision Song Contest
, first with the musical band Island, and then by herself. Alexia is one of the most talented, versatile and renowned singers in Greece, with a series of gold and platinum records, including one in Scandinavia, and a Top-100 hit in the U.S.A., while she was still a student at Berklee College of Music
, in Boston. Her first album "Alexia", was an overnight success, starting a wave in singing Greek pop music. Her debut it is supposed to have sold more than 180,000 copies, being the most successful debut album from a Greek artist (male or female). On 14 March 2010, Alpha TV
ranked Alexia the 20th top-certified female artist in the nation's phonographic era (since 1960).
, Cyprus
, Alexia's charismatic nature in music was demonstrated from a very early age. However, the coup d' état in July 1974 that aimed to overthrow the established government, followed by the Turkish invasion and occupation of the island's north region, forced many people including Alexia, to be displaced from their homes. From that moment on they were refugees in their own country. Despite the harshness and severity of the time, Alexia was encouraged by her family to pursue her dream and explore her promising talent. As a result she was drawn to music at a very young age by performing at music festivals and on television but at the same time she was eager to explore her musical interests through formal training.
in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, from where she graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Performance. During her studies she was a member of the Berklee Gospel Choir for 4 years, initially directed by Lisa Harrigan and later on by Orville Wright. She had the opportunity to meet and be taught by some well known teachers and musicians such as Gary Burton, Chick Corea
, Ken Greenhouse, Maggie Scott, Dean Earl, Betty Carter, B.B. King, Gene Puerling
, Quincy Jones
and the late Arif Mardin
.
During her sophomore year, she was chosen by CBS New York to record the theme song for the album I am Siam. The soundtrack was composed and arranged by Brian Rothschild and the lyrics were written by Stefan Vienna (Steve Wiener). Another great musician, Larry Fast (Synergy, Peter Gabriel
), was the co-producer and co-responsible for the innovative synthesizer sound. "I Am Siam" was produced by David Sonenberg, who was Meatloaf’s manager at the time and more recently of The Fugees
and the Black-Eyed Peas. "I Am Siam" reached the Billboard’s Top 100 and received airplay on the East Coast of the USA.
In her senior year she had the privilege of singing in two big concerts organized by Berklee College of Music
and Chick Corea
at the Berklee Performance Center, thanks to her teacher Ken Greenhouse, who was head of the voice department. She was among the few students to perform as only one student from each music department was selected to participate. Alexia sang “Hello Brazil”, a yet unreleased 15 minute musical piece, composed by Chick Corea
especially for that specific occasion.
Additional contribution to the concerts was made by the great singer/pianist Gayle Moran
(Mahavishnu Orchestra). Since then Alexia has maintained close relations with both Chick Corea
and Gayle Moran and nine years later she had the opportunity to work together with Chick Corea
for her Jazz album "In a Jazz mood". Part of "In a Jazz mood" was recorded at Chick Corea's old studio in Los Angeles, the "Mad Hatter".
in 1985, she moved to New York where she performed for several years and gradually became the lead singer of four different Jazz and Fusion bands.
Axiom was one of them. Alexia and her bands used to play gigs around Manhattan as New York was at that time one of the most promising places for new artists. The City was booming with creativity and talent…many remarkable musicians, each one with his/her own legacy in music history, were living and creating music in the heart of New York.
Jaco Pastorius
, Hiram Bullock
, Omar Hakim
, Art Blakey
, Gil Evans
, Kenwood Denard, Jack DeJohnette
, Steve Gadd, Tania Maria, Chaka Khan
, Phyllis Hyman, Andy Laverne, Danny Gottlieb, the Brecker Brothers, Eliane Elias, Joe Zawinul, Weather Report with Wayne Shorter, Kenny Kirkland, David Sanborn
, John Abercrombie
are just a few great musicians who have been and are still a source of inspiration for Alexia.
Around the same period of time, she had the opportunity to meet with Lionel Hampton
and Wayne Shorter
at one of her gigs at Jason's, in Manhattan.
In 1987 Alexia represented Cyprus in the Eurovision song contest
for the second time with the song 'Aspro-Mavro', thus triggering the beginning of her music career in Greece and Europe. "Aspro-Mavro" was composed by Antros and Maria Papapavlou and under the label of Air Music it became platinum in the Scandinavian countries.
From the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s she has recorded over 20 albums most of which became gold and platinum. Her debut solo album "Alexia" (released by Polygram) has sold over 300,000 copies since its first release, thus becoming three times platinum.
During this period, she collaborated with great composers, lyricists, artists and musicians from all over the world. To name a few: Mikis Theodorakis
, Kostas Kapnisis, Chick Corea, John Patitucci
, Gary Novak, Gayle Moran, Costas Cacoyannis, Linda Bourbon, Antoni Donchev, Andreas Vollenweider, Milva, Peter Massink, Fergus Currie, Christos Christofis, Aristides Mytaras, Marios Meletiou, Claire Angelidou(former minister of Culture and Education of Cyprus), Takis Binis (one of the most well known names of Rembetiko), Christos Filippou, Makis Delaportas (producer and collector-archivist of most old Greek films' soundtrack music), Stamatis Kraounakis
, George Hadjinassios, Costas Tournas, Mimis Plessas, Christian Leibl, Costas Haritodiplomenos, George Mitsiggas, Antros and Maria Papapavlou, Brian Rothschild, Stefan Vienna (Steve Weiner), Larry Fast.
In 1991 she took part in the Eurosong contest, which was held on the island of Corfu, Greece and she won the first place with the song “Ela”, composed and orchestrated by one of the most distinguished and prolific Greek composers and pianists Mimis Plessas
and lyrics by Loukila Karer.
1993 - After her collaboration with producer Makis Delaportas and orchestrator late Kostas Kapnisis, she performed "Ta Klassika" (the Classics), another big production with Greek big band and jazz songs from the 1920s to 1960s. The album became three times platinum in Greece and Cyprus. "Ta Klassika" was recorded with the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra and the album includes three duets with Vlassis Bonatsos
, Zoi Kouroukli and Rena Vlachopoulou, one of Greece's old film icons.
In 1994 Alexia performed the lead role in the production "Frank 'n Stein", written and directed by Stavros Sideras. The soundtrack composed by George Hadjinassios, one of Greece’s most prominent composers, became Alexia’s seventh album "Behind Closed Doors".
In 1995 a concert was held at “Panathinaikon” Stadium (the Kallimarmaron), the site of the first modern Olympic Games
, in honor of the world renowned composer Mikis Theodorakis
for his 70th birthday. Over 70 of the most notable singers and musicians, including the late Grigoris Bithikotsis
and Vicky Mosholiou, performed on the same stage. Alexia had the honor to open the concert with the theme song from the awarded film "Phaedra" directed by Jules Dassin
.
In 1996 "Achaeon Akti" was released, an ode to Cyprus, featuring Takis Binis, one of the most authentic representatives of "Rebetiko" (the Greek equivalent to blues). The composer of this album was Christos Filippou and the lyricists were Andreas Paraschos and Kostas Fasoulas.
During the same year the album "In a Jazz Mood" was out as well. This acclaimed album was the outcome of Alexia’s collaboration with Chick Corea
, John Patitucci
, Gary Novak, Gayle Moran
, horn-player/orchestrator/composer Peter Massink and Bulgarian pianist/composer/orchestrator Antoni Donchev (Acoustic Version). Part of “In a Jazz mood” was recorded at "The Mad Hatter", Chick Corea’s old studio in Los Angeles. The rest was completed in Bulgaria and Athens.
In 1997, "Famagusta" was released, an album consisting of narrated poetry and songs, written by the former Minister of Education and Culture of Cyprus Mrs. Claire Angelides and composed by Cypriot composer Marios Meletiou. This work was an ode to the town of Famagusta, Cyprus, which has been under the Turkish occupation since 1974. The ancient Greek theatre of Herodus Atticus (the "Herodion") was the site of a benefit concert where the album was presented. Greek actors, late Eleni Hadjiargyri, Themis Bazaka, Kostas Kazakos
, and Dimitris Potamitis himself, recited excerpts from the album. The Choir and the Orchestra of the Greek National Broadcasting Station (ΕRΤ) were conducted by Antonis Kontogeorgiou and Rafael Pilarinos respectively.
In July of the 1997 Alexia performed at the first ‘Nicolas Economou Memorial Concert’, an International Jazz and Classical Music festival that continues to be held in Cyprus annually as a tribute to the late pianist. The concert took place at the ancient Curium Amphitheatre (Kourion). The festival lasted three days and presented for the first time in Cyprus Chick Corea
, Gary Burton
, The Danilo Perez Trio, Kevin Mahogany
and Antoni Donchev’s Acoustic Trio featuring Peter Massink.
The following year, "Alexia - Mikis Theodorakis" was released, a double CD album with new approaches to twenty six of Mikis Theodorakis
' compositions (settings of poems by Greek poets including Nobel Prize winners Odysseas Elytis
and George Seferis). The album includes two duets, one with Mikis Theodorakis
and one with Italian singer Milva. Significant contribution to the album was made by Swiss harpist Andreas Vollenweider
on two pieces.
In May 2000, she performed for a benefit concert at the Piccadilly Theatre in London, organized by the Lobby for Cyprus
, a non-party political, non-sectarian voluntary organization based in the UK with the aim of reuniting Cyprus.
The exhibition included two autonomous original projects that were presented for the first time in Athens, in which Alexia participated through improvised composition, singing and acting. The exhibition was curated by the art theorist Dr. Sania Papa.
The first project, a performance by Anisa Ashkar (as Medusa
) and Alexia (as Goddess Athina), reinterprets and inverts the myth of Perseus and Medusa, placing it in a contemporary context of conflict and contradictions. The dancer and somatic release instructor Michalis Elpidoforou, also took part as Perseus
.
The second project was Joseph Dadoune’s film "Bunker Buster", which was filmed in the Athens War Museum. All voice improvisations in the film were documented in a limited vinyl edition with the title: "Score No1 in Three Moments of Origin".
with alternative Nobel Prize nominee and feminist activist Christiana Lambrinides. Through a series of workshops over a period of five years, Alexia was able to obtain valuable knowledge on such diverse, yet interrelated concepts, that are directly related to creative expression and writing such as performativity
, gender studies
, feminist studies
and art.
During this time she had the opportunity to come across and study thoroughly the work of many classic authors, theorists and activists like Nobel Prize
winner in Literature Toni Morrison, Djuna Barnes, Helene Cixous, Jacques Derrida, Georges Bataille, Louise Bourgeois, Gertrude Stein, Michel Foucault, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton.
From 2000 onwards Alexia has also been working on the production of her two new albums: Re-bE
is a triple album, which encompasses for the first time Alexia's own music compositions, lyrics, narratives and improvisations. Re-bE
released on December 1st 2010, by Performance Street. Re-bE
recorded and mixed in studios around the world such as Air Studios, Sphere Studios and worked with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra. Mastering was just completed in London at the Exchange with Mike Marsh at the helm.
All songs written and produced by Alexia Vassiliou.
The Jazz album Birds have to fly, for which Alexia wrote all the lyrics, was composed, orchestrated and performed by horn player Peter Massink.
This album will be released soon by Performance Street in Athens, Greece.
Along with the recordings of her new albums, Alexia continued to work on a series of voice improvisations, called "Voice Alone", by just using her digital recording device and a simple microphone. The "Voice Alone" series will form part of a broader upcoming project called “The Improvisation Series”. The concept of this new project is based on experimental music work, for which Alexia has been working on for many years now.
For the first part of this project, Alexia has been co-improvising and recording with musicians from Athens, Thessalonica, Syria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, New York, Los Angeles, Armenia, Israel and Paris. The project is still in progress and once it’s completed it will also be released by Performance Street.
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
vocalist, musician, performer, singer who represented Cyprus twice in the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
, first with the musical band Island, and then by herself. Alexia is one of the most talented, versatile and renowned singers in Greece, with a series of gold and platinum records, including one in Scandinavia, and a Top-100 hit in the U.S.A., while she was still a student at Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
, in Boston. Her first album "Alexia", was an overnight success, starting a wave in singing Greek pop music. Her debut it is supposed to have sold more than 180,000 copies, being the most successful debut album from a Greek artist (male or female). On 14 March 2010, Alpha TV
Alpha TV
Alpha TV is a Greek terrestrial channel . The station features a mix of Greek and foreign shows with an emphasis on entertainment programs. The studios are located near Athens...
ranked Alexia the 20th top-certified female artist in the nation's phonographic era (since 1960).
Early life
Born on February 5, 1964, in FamagustaFamagusta
Famagusta is a city on the east coast of Cyprus and is capital of the Famagusta District. It is located east of Nicosia, and possesses the deepest harbour of the island.-Name:...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Alexia's charismatic nature in music was demonstrated from a very early age. However, the coup d' état in July 1974 that aimed to overthrow the established government, followed by the Turkish invasion and occupation of the island's north region, forced many people including Alexia, to be displaced from their homes. From that moment on they were refugees in their own country. Despite the harshness and severity of the time, Alexia was encouraged by her family to pursue her dream and explore her promising talent. As a result she was drawn to music at a very young age by performing at music festivals and on television but at the same time she was eager to explore her musical interests through formal training.
Education
Alexia Vassiliou studied for four years at Berklee College of MusicBerklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, from where she graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Performance. During her studies she was a member of the Berklee Gospel Choir for 4 years, initially directed by Lisa Harrigan and later on by Orville Wright. She had the opportunity to meet and be taught by some well known teachers and musicians such as Gary Burton, Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
, Ken Greenhouse, Maggie Scott, Dean Earl, Betty Carter, B.B. King, Gene Puerling
Gene Puerling
Eugene Thomas Puerling was a vocal performer and vocal arranger. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Puerling created and led the vocal groups The Hi-Lo's and The Singers Unlimited...
, Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
and the late Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco, and country...
.
During her sophomore year, she was chosen by CBS New York to record the theme song for the album I am Siam. The soundtrack was composed and arranged by Brian Rothschild and the lyrics were written by Stefan Vienna (Steve Wiener). Another great musician, Larry Fast (Synergy, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
), was the co-producer and co-responsible for the innovative synthesizer sound. "I Am Siam" was produced by David Sonenberg, who was Meatloaf’s manager at the time and more recently of The Fugees
The Fugees
Fugees were a Haitian American hip hop group who rose to fame in the mid-1990s. Their repertoire included elements of Hip hop, soul and Caribbean music, particularly reggae. The members of the group were rapper/singer/producer Wyclef Jean, rapper/singer/producer Lauryn Hill, and rapper Pras Michel...
and the Black-Eyed Peas. "I Am Siam" reached the Billboard’s Top 100 and received airplay on the East Coast of the USA.
In her senior year she had the privilege of singing in two big concerts organized by Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
and Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
at the Berklee Performance Center, thanks to her teacher Ken Greenhouse, who was head of the voice department. She was among the few students to perform as only one student from each music department was selected to participate. Alexia sang “Hello Brazil”, a yet unreleased 15 minute musical piece, composed by Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
especially for that specific occasion.
Additional contribution to the concerts was made by the great singer/pianist Gayle Moran
Gayle Moran
Gayle Moran is a vocalist, keyboard player , and songwriter. She was a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the middle 70s, appearing on Apocalypse and Visions of the Emerald Beyond . She later appeared on recordings by Return to Forever, e.g. Musicmagic , and Chick Corea, e.g...
(Mahavishnu Orchestra). Since then Alexia has maintained close relations with both Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
and Gayle Moran and nine years later she had the opportunity to work together with Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
for her Jazz album "In a Jazz mood". Part of "In a Jazz mood" was recorded at Chick Corea's old studio in Los Angeles, the "Mad Hatter".
Career
After her graduation from Berklee College of MusicBerklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in 1985, she moved to New York where she performed for several years and gradually became the lead singer of four different Jazz and Fusion bands.
Axiom was one of them. Alexia and her bands used to play gigs around Manhattan as New York was at that time one of the most promising places for new artists. The City was booming with creativity and talent…many remarkable musicians, each one with his/her own legacy in music history, were living and creating music in the heart of New York.
Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony Pastorius III , known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged as a virtuoso electric bass player....
, Hiram Bullock
Hiram Bullock
Hiram Law Bullock was an American jazz funk and jazz fusion guitarist.He was born in Osaka, Japan to African American parents serving in the U.S. Military. At the age of two he returned to Baltimore, Maryland with his parents, and quickly showed a prodigious musical talent...
, Omar Hakim
Omar Hakim
Omar Hakim is an American jazz, jazz fusion and pop music drummer.Hakim credits jazz vibraphonist Mike Mainieri with giving him his first break in 1980; Hakim appeared in a video with Mainieri called The Jazz Life and began working with singer Carly Simon through Mainieri...
, Art Blakey
Art Blakey
Arthur "Art" Blakey , known later as Abdullah Ibn Buhaina, was an American Grammy Award-winning jazz drummer and bandleader. He was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community....
, Gil Evans
Gil Evans
Gil Evans was a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and bandleader, active in the United States...
, Kenwood Denard, Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette
Jack DeJohnette is an American jazz drummer, pianist, and composer. He is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, due to extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians like Miles Davis, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett and Sonny...
, Steve Gadd, Tania Maria, Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
, Phyllis Hyman, Andy Laverne, Danny Gottlieb, the Brecker Brothers, Eliane Elias, Joe Zawinul, Weather Report with Wayne Shorter, Kenny Kirkland, David Sanborn
David Sanborn
David Sanborn is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school...
, John Abercrombie
John Abercrombie (guitarist)
John Abercrombie is an American jazz guitarist, whose work often explores jazz fusion and post bop. Abercrombie has played with Billy Cobham, Jack DeJohnette, Michael Brecker and Randy Brecker...
are just a few great musicians who have been and are still a source of inspiration for Alexia.
Around the same period of time, she had the opportunity to meet with Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
and Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter
Wayne Shorter is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.He is generally acknowledged to be jazz's greatest living composer, and many of his compositions have become standards...
at one of her gigs at Jason's, in Manhattan.
In 1987 Alexia represented Cyprus in the Eurovision song contest
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
for the second time with the song 'Aspro-Mavro', thus triggering the beginning of her music career in Greece and Europe. "Aspro-Mavro" was composed by Antros and Maria Papapavlou and under the label of Air Music it became platinum in the Scandinavian countries.
From the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s she has recorded over 20 albums most of which became gold and platinum. Her debut solo album "Alexia" (released by Polygram) has sold over 300,000 copies since its first release, thus becoming three times platinum.
During this period, she collaborated with great composers, lyricists, artists and musicians from all over the world. To name a few: Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis is one of the most renowned Greek songwriters and composers. Internationally, he is probably best known for his songs and for his scores for the films Zorba the Greek , Z , and Serpico .Politically, he identified with the left until the late 1980s; in 1989, he ran as an...
, Kostas Kapnisis, Chick Corea, John Patitucci
John Patitucci
John Patitucci is an American Grammy-winning jazz double bass and jazz fusion electric bass player.-Biography:Patitucci is of Italian descent and was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he began playing the electric bass at age ten, composing and performing at age 12, as well as the acoustic bass at...
, Gary Novak, Gayle Moran, Costas Cacoyannis, Linda Bourbon, Antoni Donchev, Andreas Vollenweider, Milva, Peter Massink, Fergus Currie, Christos Christofis, Aristides Mytaras, Marios Meletiou, Claire Angelidou(former minister of Culture and Education of Cyprus), Takis Binis (one of the most well known names of Rembetiko), Christos Filippou, Makis Delaportas (producer and collector-archivist of most old Greek films' soundtrack music), Stamatis Kraounakis
Stamatis Kraounakis
Stamatis Kraounakis is one of the most important contemporary Greek pop music composers. His works have characterised the decades of 1980s and 1990s in Greece. He is also a lyricist, singer, producer and writer. He was born and lives in Athens and has studied Political Science in Panteion University...
, George Hadjinassios, Costas Tournas, Mimis Plessas, Christian Leibl, Costas Haritodiplomenos, George Mitsiggas, Antros and Maria Papapavlou, Brian Rothschild, Stefan Vienna (Steve Weiner), Larry Fast.
In 1991 she took part in the Eurosong contest, which was held on the island of Corfu, Greece and she won the first place with the song “Ela”, composed and orchestrated by one of the most distinguished and prolific Greek composers and pianists Mimis Plessas
Mimis Plessas
Mimis Plessas is one of the most significant modern Greek composers. He was born in Athens. In 1952 he started composing music and since then he has written music for over 100 Greek movies, Greek radio, theatre and TV...
and lyrics by Loukila Karer.
1993 - After her collaboration with producer Makis Delaportas and orchestrator late Kostas Kapnisis, she performed "Ta Klassika" (the Classics), another big production with Greek big band and jazz songs from the 1920s to 1960s. The album became three times platinum in Greece and Cyprus. "Ta Klassika" was recorded with the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra and the album includes three duets with Vlassis Bonatsos
Vlassis Bonatsos
Vlassis Bonatsos was a popular Greek entertainer. His father was a judicial and his mother was a piano teacher. Vlassis started his music career by creating a group called "ΠΕΛΟΜΑ ΜΠΟΚΙΟΥ", in the early 1970s, which was named after the initials of the names of the members of the group...
, Zoi Kouroukli and Rena Vlachopoulou, one of Greece's old film icons.
In 1994 Alexia performed the lead role in the production "Frank 'n Stein", written and directed by Stavros Sideras. The soundtrack composed by George Hadjinassios, one of Greece’s most prominent composers, became Alexia’s seventh album "Behind Closed Doors".
In 1995 a concert was held at “Panathinaikon” Stadium (the Kallimarmaron), the site of the first modern Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, in honor of the world renowned composer Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis is one of the most renowned Greek songwriters and composers. Internationally, he is probably best known for his songs and for his scores for the films Zorba the Greek , Z , and Serpico .Politically, he identified with the left until the late 1980s; in 1989, he ran as an...
for his 70th birthday. Over 70 of the most notable singers and musicians, including the late Grigoris Bithikotsis
Grigoris Bithikotsis
Grigoris Bithikotsis was a popular Greek folk singer/songwriter with a career spanning five decades.-Biography:...
and Vicky Mosholiou, performed on the same stage. Alexia had the honor to open the concert with the theme song from the awarded film "Phaedra" directed by Jules Dassin
Jules Dassin
Julius "Jules" Dassin , was an American film director, with Jewish-Russian origins. He was a subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, and subsequently moved to France where he revived his career.-Early life:...
.
In 1996 "Achaeon Akti" was released, an ode to Cyprus, featuring Takis Binis, one of the most authentic representatives of "Rebetiko" (the Greek equivalent to blues). The composer of this album was Christos Filippou and the lyricists were Andreas Paraschos and Kostas Fasoulas.
During the same year the album "In a Jazz Mood" was out as well. This acclaimed album was the outcome of Alexia’s collaboration with Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
, John Patitucci
John Patitucci
John Patitucci is an American Grammy-winning jazz double bass and jazz fusion electric bass player.-Biography:Patitucci is of Italian descent and was born in Brooklyn, New York, where he began playing the electric bass at age ten, composing and performing at age 12, as well as the acoustic bass at...
, Gary Novak, Gayle Moran
Gayle Moran
Gayle Moran is a vocalist, keyboard player , and songwriter. She was a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra during the middle 70s, appearing on Apocalypse and Visions of the Emerald Beyond . She later appeared on recordings by Return to Forever, e.g. Musicmagic , and Chick Corea, e.g...
, horn-player/orchestrator/composer Peter Massink and Bulgarian pianist/composer/orchestrator Antoni Donchev (Acoustic Version). Part of “In a Jazz mood” was recorded at "The Mad Hatter", Chick Corea’s old studio in Los Angeles. The rest was completed in Bulgaria and Athens.
In 1997, "Famagusta" was released, an album consisting of narrated poetry and songs, written by the former Minister of Education and Culture of Cyprus Mrs. Claire Angelides and composed by Cypriot composer Marios Meletiou. This work was an ode to the town of Famagusta, Cyprus, which has been under the Turkish occupation since 1974. The ancient Greek theatre of Herodus Atticus (the "Herodion") was the site of a benefit concert where the album was presented. Greek actors, late Eleni Hadjiargyri, Themis Bazaka, Kostas Kazakos
Kostas Kazakos
Kostas Kazakos is a Greek actor, director, and politician.He was married to the famous actress Tzeni Karezi with whom he has a son...
, and Dimitris Potamitis himself, recited excerpts from the album. The Choir and the Orchestra of the Greek National Broadcasting Station (ΕRΤ) were conducted by Antonis Kontogeorgiou and Rafael Pilarinos respectively.
In July of the 1997 Alexia performed at the first ‘Nicolas Economou Memorial Concert’, an International Jazz and Classical Music festival that continues to be held in Cyprus annually as a tribute to the late pianist. The concert took place at the ancient Curium Amphitheatre (Kourion). The festival lasted three days and presented for the first time in Cyprus Chick Corea
Chick Corea
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...
, Gary Burton
Gary Burton
Gary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...
, The Danilo Perez Trio, Kevin Mahogany
Kevin Mahogany
Kevin Mahogany is an American jazz vocalist who became prominent in the 1990s. He is known for his scat singing, and his singing style has been compared with jazz singers Joe Williams and Johnny Hartman....
and Antoni Donchev’s Acoustic Trio featuring Peter Massink.
The following year, "Alexia - Mikis Theodorakis" was released, a double CD album with new approaches to twenty six of Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis is one of the most renowned Greek songwriters and composers. Internationally, he is probably best known for his songs and for his scores for the films Zorba the Greek , Z , and Serpico .Politically, he identified with the left until the late 1980s; in 1989, he ran as an...
' compositions (settings of poems by Greek poets including Nobel Prize winners Odysseas Elytis
Odysseas Elytis
Odysseas Elytis was regarded as a major exponent of romantic modernism in Greece and the world. In 1979 he was bestowed with the Nobel Prize in Literature.-Biography:...
and George Seferis). The album includes two duets, one with Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis is one of the most renowned Greek songwriters and composers. Internationally, he is probably best known for his songs and for his scores for the films Zorba the Greek , Z , and Serpico .Politically, he identified with the left until the late 1980s; in 1989, he ran as an...
and one with Italian singer Milva. Significant contribution to the album was made by Swiss harpist Andreas Vollenweider
Andreas Vollenweider
Andreas Vollenweider is a Swiss musician. His music has been categorized as World Music, Jazz, New Age and even Classical; two of his albums were number 1 on the Billboard charts simultaneously in the categories Classical, Jazz, Pop and Crossover for more than 11 weeks. His music could be...
on two pieces.
In May 2000, she performed for a benefit concert at the Piccadilly Theatre in London, organized by the Lobby for Cyprus
Lobby for Cyprus
Lobby for Cyprus is a non-party-political human rights NGO that is based in London in the United Kingdom. Lobby for Cyprus campaigns for the reunification of Cyprus and for the human rights of Cypriots.-See also:*Loizidou v. Turkey...
, a non-party political, non-sectarian voluntary organization based in the UK with the aim of reuniting Cyprus.
Art
In 2007, Track7inc and Track7music produced and presented the artistic exhibition of Anisa Ashkar (1979, Palestine) and Joseph Dadoune (1975, Israel) with the general title “Purifying Love” at Track7 art space in Athens, Greece.The exhibition included two autonomous original projects that were presented for the first time in Athens, in which Alexia participated through improvised composition, singing and acting. The exhibition was curated by the art theorist Dr. Sania Papa.
The first project, a performance by Anisa Ashkar (as Medusa
Medusa
In Greek mythology Medusa , " guardian, protectress") was a Gorgon, a chthonic monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. The author Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives Medusa another chthonic pair as parents. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone...
) and Alexia (as Goddess Athina), reinterprets and inverts the myth of Perseus and Medusa, placing it in a contemporary context of conflict and contradictions. The dancer and somatic release instructor Michalis Elpidoforou, also took part as Perseus
Perseus
Perseus ,Perseos and Perseas are not used in English. the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty of Danaans there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths of the Twelve Olympians...
.
The second project was Joseph Dadoune’s film "Bunker Buster", which was filmed in the Athens War Museum. All voice improvisations in the film were documented in a limited vinyl edition with the title: "Score No1 in Three Moments of Origin".
New music
In an effort to explore new ways of thinking and expression, Alexia devoted part of her time on the study of creative writingCreative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
with alternative Nobel Prize nominee and feminist activist Christiana Lambrinides. Through a series of workshops over a period of five years, Alexia was able to obtain valuable knowledge on such diverse, yet interrelated concepts, that are directly related to creative expression and writing such as performativity
Performativity
Performativity is an interdisciplinary term often used to name the capacity of speech and language in particular, as well as other non-verbal forms of expressive action, to intervene in the course of human events. The term derives from the work in speech act theory originated by the analytic...
, gender studies
Gender studies
Gender studies is a field of interdisciplinary study which analyses race, ethnicity, sexuality and location.Gender study has many different forms. One view exposed by the philosopher Simone de Beauvoir said: "One is not born a woman, one becomes one"...
, feminist studies
Feminist Studies
Founded in 1972, Feminist Studies was the first scholarly journal in women’s studies and remains a premier journal in the field. It is currently an independent nonprofit publication housed at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland....
and art.
During this time she had the opportunity to come across and study thoroughly the work of many classic authors, theorists and activists like Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winner in Literature Toni Morrison, Djuna Barnes, Helene Cixous, Jacques Derrida, Georges Bataille, Louise Bourgeois, Gertrude Stein, Michel Foucault, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton.
From 2000 onwards Alexia has also been working on the production of her two new albums: Re-bE
Re-bE
Re-bE is the latest studio album by Alexia released by Performance Street in 2010. “Re-bE” was recorded and mixed in studios around the world such as Air Studios, Sphere Studios and worked with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra....
is a triple album, which encompasses for the first time Alexia's own music compositions, lyrics, narratives and improvisations. Re-bE
Re-bE
Re-bE is the latest studio album by Alexia released by Performance Street in 2010. “Re-bE” was recorded and mixed in studios around the world such as Air Studios, Sphere Studios and worked with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra....
released on December 1st 2010, by Performance Street. Re-bE
Re-bE
Re-bE is the latest studio album by Alexia released by Performance Street in 2010. “Re-bE” was recorded and mixed in studios around the world such as Air Studios, Sphere Studios and worked with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra....
recorded and mixed in studios around the world such as Air Studios, Sphere Studios and worked with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra. Mastering was just completed in London at the Exchange with Mike Marsh at the helm.
All songs written and produced by Alexia Vassiliou.
The Jazz album Birds have to fly, for which Alexia wrote all the lyrics, was composed, orchestrated and performed by horn player Peter Massink.
This album will be released soon by Performance Street in Athens, Greece.
Along with the recordings of her new albums, Alexia continued to work on a series of voice improvisations, called "Voice Alone", by just using her digital recording device and a simple microphone. The "Voice Alone" series will form part of a broader upcoming project called “The Improvisation Series”. The concept of this new project is based on experimental music work, for which Alexia has been working on for many years now.
For the first part of this project, Alexia has been co-improvising and recording with musicians from Athens, Thessalonica, Syria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, New York, Los Angeles, Armenia, Israel and Paris. The project is still in progress and once it’s completed it will also be released by Performance Street.
Discography
- 1981: "Monica" (Maxi-Single)
- 1984: I am siam - She went pop
- 1987: "Aspro mavro" (Maxi-Single)
- 1987: Alexia
- 1988: Party On the Rocks
- 1989: Ena dyo tria
- 1989: "Lefka Christougenna" (Maxi-Single)
- 1990: Ela mia nychta
- 1991: "Ela - Love me" (Maxi-Single)
- 1992: Nerompogies
- 1993: I Alexia erminevi ta klasika
- 1994: Keklismenon ton thiron
- 1996: "Acheon akti" (CD-Single)
- 1996: Alexia in a jazz mood
- 1997: Famagusta
- 1998: Alexia - Mikis Theodorakis
- 1999: Safe sex (O.S.T.)
- 1999: I Kyria me tis kamelies
- 2000: The road to Ithaca (O.S.T.)
- 2007: Score No1 in three moments of origin-First Cycle (O.S.T.)
- 2010: Water" (O.S.T) (Los Angeles)
- 2010: Re-bE
- 2011: Sacred Whispers (O.S.T) (Digital Album)
- 2011: "Cypriot - The RemiXes" (Digital Single)
- 2011: Backyards (Digital Album)