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Concert "Steps" in Madrid
July 02, 20229:30 p.m.
MADRID
Casa Árabe garden (at Calle Alcalá, 62).
9:30 p.m.
Free entry until the venue’s capacity is reached.
The duo formed by Vasilis Kostas (Greek lute) and Layth Sidiq (violin) offer this performance on Thursday, June 30 in the garden of Casa Árabe in Madrid.
“Steps” is the new album by the duo made up by laouto (Greek lute) player Vasilis Kostas and violinist Layth Sidiq. Released in June 2022, it combines the musical universes of the Greek and Arabic traditions with contemporary improvisation. The playlist consists of original compositions that explore the musical bridges between these two cultures and expand the potential for what a duo is capable of. From the Tigris River to the mountains of Epirus (Greece), the duo experiments with new structures and challenges music’s boundaries by recreating its repertoire at a specific moment for the audience to enjoy.
In a fusion of different sounds and techniques, the duo has toured the world over the past six years, performing at famous concert halls and academic institutions, including WOMEX, the ADEM festival, Tufts University, the Berklee College of Music, the Montreal Jazz Festival and Carnegie Hall. This album is meant to serve as inspiration for similar collaborations revolving around friendship, respect and a philosophy of improvised exploration that can lead tradition into new territories.
Members:
Layth Sidiq (violin)
Vasilis Kostas (laouto)
In a fusion of different sounds and techniques, the duo has toured the world over the past six years, performing at famous concert halls and academic institutions, including WOMEX, the ADEM festival, Tufts University, the Berklee College of Music, the Montreal Jazz Festival and Carnegie Hall. This album is meant to serve as inspiration for similar collaborations revolving around friendship, respect and a philosophy of improvised exploration that can lead tradition into new territories.
Members:
Layth Sidiq (violin)
Vasilis Kostas (laouto)
Vasilis Kostas is a Greek laouto player, composer and teacher with a Master’s degree from the Berklee Global Jazz Institute, which he attended on a full scholarship. He was the founder/artistic director of the Epirus Ensemble at Boston’s Greek Institute and a member of “Global Messengers,” a group launched by Grammy Award winning pianist Danilo Pérez. Vasilis has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Montreal International Jazz Festival, the Panama Jazz Festival and WOMEX, as well as sharing stages with renowned artists like Simon Shaheen, Tigran Hamasyan, Antonio Serrano and Shreya Ghoshal, to name just a few. He has performed as a soloist with the Berklee World Strings Orchestra conducted by Eugene Friesen, as well as going on international tours to present his laouto works.
His approach to this continental lute is based on the use of various languages from traditional Greek music through his instrument, building bridges between his own roots and jazz improvisation, while adapting the complex lines and musical philosophy of master clarinetist Petroloukas Halkias. This work in artistic direction led both Petroloukas and Vasilis to record their first duo album, titled “The Soul of Epirus,” released in October 2019. That project was voted Best Album of 2019 by the Balkan World Music Chart and was premiered on tour in the United States, France, Switzerland and Greece. Vasilis recently received the Artist Fellowship in the Traditional Arts Award bestowed by the Mass Cultural Council, and the Forty Under 40 Award from the Greek America Foundation because of his efforts to promote traditional Greek music in the United States.
He currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts, and presents and shares his musical roots and projects at concert halls and academic institutions throughout the US and the entire world.
Layth Sidiq is an award-winning violinist, composer and teacher, as well as becoming the new artistic director of the New York Arabic Orchestra. He has toured the world, performing with greats like Simon Shaheen, Danilo Pérez, Javier Limón and Jack Dejohnette, as well as performing at such venues as the London Jazz Festival, Boston Symphony Hall, WOMEX Expo, BBC Proms, Detroit Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival and Dominican Republic Jazz Festival. Layth is featured on many award-winning albums, and his first album, “Son of Tigris,” premiered at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2016.
A Jordanian with Iraqi roots and musicians for parents, Layth began his training in music at Amman’s National Conservatory of Music with Timur Ibrahimov, and at the age of just eleven he held his first major solo performance with the European Chamber String Orchestra before Jordanian royalty. Layth completed his bachelor’s degree at the prestigious Chethams School of Music in Manchester (UK), and after being admitted to the famous Berklee College of Music in Boston on a full scholarship he traveled to the US to finish his bachelor’s degree in musical performance in 2014 and his Master’s degree at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute in 2016.
In 2018, Layth was one of the winners of the Zbigniew Seifert International Jazz Violin Competition, thus becoming the first and only Arab ever to participate at that time. He then presented his compositions, a mix of Eastern and Western styles performed in a way that perfectly describes the diversity of his childhood and his musical taste. In addition, he was recently named “International Artist of the Year” at the 2020 Boston Music Awards.
In 2019, Layth released a new EP titled “Hamsa” in collaboration with Carnatic vocalist Rohith Jayaraman, combining the vast worlds of Arabic and Carnatic music. Through their years of friendships and deep roots, this EP showcases a sound novel to both musical styles, with one hand stretched out into the past and the other into the future.
His approach to this continental lute is based on the use of various languages from traditional Greek music through his instrument, building bridges between his own roots and jazz improvisation, while adapting the complex lines and musical philosophy of master clarinetist Petroloukas Halkias. This work in artistic direction led both Petroloukas and Vasilis to record their first duo album, titled “The Soul of Epirus,” released in October 2019. That project was voted Best Album of 2019 by the Balkan World Music Chart and was premiered on tour in the United States, France, Switzerland and Greece. Vasilis recently received the Artist Fellowship in the Traditional Arts Award bestowed by the Mass Cultural Council, and the Forty Under 40 Award from the Greek America Foundation because of his efforts to promote traditional Greek music in the United States.
He currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts, and presents and shares his musical roots and projects at concert halls and academic institutions throughout the US and the entire world.
Layth Sidiq is an award-winning violinist, composer and teacher, as well as becoming the new artistic director of the New York Arabic Orchestra. He has toured the world, performing with greats like Simon Shaheen, Danilo Pérez, Javier Limón and Jack Dejohnette, as well as performing at such venues as the London Jazz Festival, Boston Symphony Hall, WOMEX Expo, BBC Proms, Detroit Jazz Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival and Dominican Republic Jazz Festival. Layth is featured on many award-winning albums, and his first album, “Son of Tigris,” premiered at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2016.
A Jordanian with Iraqi roots and musicians for parents, Layth began his training in music at Amman’s National Conservatory of Music with Timur Ibrahimov, and at the age of just eleven he held his first major solo performance with the European Chamber String Orchestra before Jordanian royalty. Layth completed his bachelor’s degree at the prestigious Chethams School of Music in Manchester (UK), and after being admitted to the famous Berklee College of Music in Boston on a full scholarship he traveled to the US to finish his bachelor’s degree in musical performance in 2014 and his Master’s degree at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute in 2016.
In 2018, Layth was one of the winners of the Zbigniew Seifert International Jazz Violin Competition, thus becoming the first and only Arab ever to participate at that time. He then presented his compositions, a mix of Eastern and Western styles performed in a way that perfectly describes the diversity of his childhood and his musical taste. In addition, he was recently named “International Artist of the Year” at the 2020 Boston Music Awards.
In 2019, Layth released a new EP titled “Hamsa” in collaboration with Carnatic vocalist Rohith Jayaraman, combining the vast worlds of Arabic and Carnatic music. Through their years of friendships and deep roots, this EP showcases a sound novel to both musical styles, with one hand stretched out into the past and the other into the future.