biography
Christos was born and raised in Greece, where he completed his studies in classical percussion. After receiving a scholarship from Berklee College of Music, he moved to Boston, attaining a BA in Jazz Vibraphone Performance and later moved to New York, where he graduated from Manhattan School of Music earning his MA in Jazz Vibraphone Performance.
Christos found his personal voice when he established 'Manhattan Vibes’, a band that has appeared at numerous New York's cutting edge venues including the Blue Note, the Jazz Standard, Smoke Jazz Club and Dizzy's Club Coca Cola. Highlights of his career include performances with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis, a US tour with the Charles Mingus ‘Epitaph' Band featuring bassist Christian McBride and conductor Gunther Schuller, a recording with the Harmony Ensemble of NY of Henry Mancini’s 'Peter Gunn' featuring Lew Soloff, Ronnie Cuber and Victor Lewis, recordings with vocalist Chaka Khan and a duo performance at Carnegie Hall with pianist Sergio Salvatore.
His collaboration with Greece’s legendary composer Mimis Plessas led to the release of two projects both based on Plessas’ music: the album ‘Ηχώ/Echo: the music of Mimis Plessas’ featuring Evi Siamanda on vocals; and the duo recording ‘We Two’ featuring Mimis Plessas on piano and Christos on vibraphone.
In ‘Point Two’ Christos teams up with bassist Petros Klampanis who he met five years ago in NYC. Point Two is a unique blend of their influences of Middle Eastern, Greek and Latin elements and they include original compositions, standards, and folk songs.
In addition to ‘Point Two’ in 2014 Christos' collaboration with the ‘Chronos Ensemble’ featuring one of Greece’s legendary singer-songwriter Dimitra Galani led to the release of the album ‘Chronos Project”.
Christos’ new works include:
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‘Silver Lining’ - a piano/vibraphone duo project with acclaimed pianist Giovanni Mirabassi, released in May 2022
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‘Sonic Convergence’ - a duo with bassist Petros Klampanis meeting a string quartet, performing music by renowned composer and educator Christos Hatzis, presented at the Athens Epidaurus Festival, 2022
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/S O L O/ - a unique project combining acoustic vibraphone with electronics, featuring Pearl’s MalletStation
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‘Home’, a collaborative project that was recorded during Covid lockdown, featuring guests from around the globe, coming out in 2023
For several years, Christos had been a guest faculty member at the 'Zeltsman Marimba Festival' which took place every summer in different parts of the world. He also has an Artist Residency at the 'Music Village' in Greece.
His original works for mallets are published from Emarel Music and are being played in concerts around the world.
Christos is endorsed by Ludwig-Musser Vibraphones, Pearl MalletStation and is playing his signature Vic Firth M37 mallets.
He makes his home in New York City.
With his great technical mastery, his deep understanding of various
musical traditions, and his unique personal voice on the instrument,
Christos is pushing the boundaries of what can be expected from the modern
vibraphonist in the 21st century
Joe Locke,
Vibes Master
Christos has evolved into one of the best vibes players on the scene today
Antonio Sanchez,
Grammy Awarded Drummer
