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Lefteris Kordis

About Me

“...a young pianist & composer who has demonstrated an exceptional creativity, in both his playing & his writing, as well as showing us all, his very strong commitment & motivation to aim for high musical goals. Talent like his is rare.” -- Steve Lacy "A pianist with skill, touch, musicality and a gift for making songs from songs. Plus, he can swing! Give a listen" -- Bob BrookmeyerLefteris Kordis is a Greek-born pianist and composer. Just out of the Music Gymnasium and High School of Pallini in Athens, he performed with composer Mikis Theodorakis on piano and trumpet. While at the Ionian University in Corfu, Lefteris focused on both the trumpet and piano, and began to play jazz in addition to the classical repertoire he had studied since the age of four. Lefteris came to the U.S. as a Fulbright, Onassis, and Gerondelis scholar and earned his Master's degree with honors at New England Conservatory in 2004. Currently, he is a doctoral candidate at New England Conservatory, supported by the Ruth Shapiro Memorial Scholarship, and has studied with Danilo Perez, Bob Brookmeyer, Jerry Bergonzi, Frank Carlberg, Michael Gandolfi, and Joe Morris, among others. Lefteris is currently studying with Charlie BanacosLefteris has performed with Steve Lacy, Sheila Jordan, Joe Lovano, Joe Hunt, Takis Paterelis, Robert Sadin, and Vasilis Saleas, among others in venues such as the Half Note Jazz Club in Athens, Cornelia Street Cafe in NYC, Jututuba Jazz Club and Umo Jazz club in Finland, Boston Symphony Café at the Boston Symphony Hall, Jordan Hall in Boston, Harvard University, Megaron Mousikis in Athens, Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, WI, at Virginia Commonwealth University, and in numerous Festivals in Greece as well as in the New England area.As a teaching fellow at the New England Conservatory, he has been teaching piano, jazz ear training, music theory, and has developed curriculum for an undergraduate Jazz music history course entitled: "The Post Bebop Era, 1949-1961."

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 31/12/2006
Band Website: www.pankomusic.com
Band Members: 1. Dancing in the Temple (music by L. Kordis). Recorded at the Little Dog studio in Malden, MA in Feb. 27, 2005. Mixed by Peter Kontrimas @ PBS Studios. Josh Deutch (trumpet), Alec Spiegelman (alto sax), Adam Schneit (tenor sax), L. Kordis (piano), Jorge Roeder (bass), Richie Barshay (drums).2. Celia (Bud Powell) The Bebop Trio with drummer Thor Thorvaldsson and clarinetist Alec Spiegelman. Recorded on October 21, 2007 at the Wellspring Studios in Acton, MA3. The Mind (music by L.Kordis, poem by Emily Dickinson). Panayota Haloulakou voice, Alec Spiegelman (clarinet), Josh Deutch (trumpet), L. Kordis (piano), Jorge Roeder (bass), Richie Barshay (drums).
4. Thinking of Brother J (music by L.Kordis). Adam Schneit (alto sax), L. Kordis (piano), Jorge Roeder (bass), Richie Barshay (drums).
5. Change of Season (H.Nichols). Bassless Trio with drummer Thor Thorvaldsson and Alec Spiegelman. Recorded on March 25, 2007 at the gallery "Lily Pad" in Cambridge, MA.6. In Walked Bud (T. Monk). Duo with multi-instrumentalist and composer Alec Spiegelman. Recorded in 2006.
Influences: Selected influences include: Poly Panou, Steve Lacy, J.S. Bach, Miles Davis, Dmitry Shostakovich String Quartets, Mikis Theodorakis, Jorge Roeder, Aesop's Fables, Richie Barshay, Manos Hatzidakis, Frank Carlberg, Kurt Weil, Maurice Ravel, Darryl Harper, Danilo Perez, Bob Brookmeyer, Paul Bley, Astor Piazzolla, Jobim, Panayota, Rosa Passos, Iannis Xenakis, Misha Mengelberg, Ran Blake, Igor Stravinsky, Alexander Scriabin, Benjamin Britten, Panayota Haloulakou, Gyorgy Ligeti, Vasilis Saleas, Toru Takemitsu, Alec Spiegelman, Vardan Ovsepian, Andreas Thermos, Johannes Brahms, Thor Thorvaldsson, Morton Feldman, Alexandros Drakos Ktistakis, Marianne Solivan, Irineos Koulouras, Sotiria Mpelou, Eleni Vitali, Ahmad Jamal, Keith Jarrett, Art Tatum, Lester Young, Lennie Tristano, Sheila Jordan, Thelonious Monk, Herbie Nichols, Billy Strayhorn, Herbie Hankock, Brad Mehldau, Beatles, "The Cave" by Steve Reich, Radiohead, Kani Karaca, Ravi Shankar, Savina Yannatou. Other influences: Jiddu Krishnamurti, Akira Kurosava, Charlie Chaplin, Socrates, Homer, Nikos Kazantzakis, Yannis Ritsos, Emily Dickinson, Umberto Eco, Pablo Picasso, Karl Marx, Osho, Inayat Khan, and Thich Nhat Hanh.
Sounds Like: The Following two videos are live performances with clarinetist, fellow Doctoral student, and very good friend of mine Dr. Darryl Harper. Li Chiao-Ping is the dancer and the choreographer at the performance below:
PLAYTIME (Ayn Inserto). Darryl Harper & Lefteris Kordis
Playtime (2006) by Ayn Inserto

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Recitative & Frenzy by James Grant

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"26-2" with Austin McMahon (dr) and Greg Loughman (b). Live at the Fireplace on June 10, 2009

Record Label: none

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