Pekka Pylkkanen Quartet

Finnish jazz saxophonist and composer Pekka Pylkkänen brings his quartet to Technopolis 20 with a programme of his original works, on Friday, 12th of May 2023, at 8pm.

Recognised as one of the major saxophone voices in contemporary European jazz, Pekka Pylkkänen - for the first time in Cyprus despite his tireless global touring schedule - brings for this debut at Technopolis 20, a showcase of the best of his own compositions to be interpreted by a stellar ensemble of the cream of what contemporary Cyprus has to offer.

Pekka Pylkkänen - saxophone

Ireneaos Koullouras- bass

Christos Yerolatsitis - piano

Stelios Xidias - drums

Entrance: €‎15

Reservations are necessary at 70002420

A few words about the musicians

Pekka Pylkkänen, born in 1964, is a highly acclaimed saxophonist and composer with a strong reputation in the European jazz scene and elsewhere. He has performed all over the world, including Asia and the Americas, and Africa; collaborating with prestigious artists and performing as a soloist, recording artist, and educator. His extensive performing experience spans over 60 countries, including clubs, concert halls, and major festivals.

Recently, Pekka performed as a soloist with the Thailand Philharmonic Orchestra at the TIJC in Bangkok, Thailand 2023 (as a part of his World Tour). In 2022 he also performed at Pori Jazz 2022 with his new Organic Bop Quartet. Additionally, he has showcased his versatility by performing a string of duo-concerts with the pianist Phillip Strange in Japan.

Early in his career, Pekka worked with the National Jazz Orchestra of Finland - UMO Jazz Orchestra, performing also modern contemporary music and frequently featuring as a soloist. Over the last 15+ years, he has performed as a leader in over 2000 concerts worldwide, including events such as the Hong Kong Jazz Festival, Beijing Jazz Festival, Trondheim Jazz Festival, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, and many more.

As an educator, Pekka has held several full-time positions in Finland and conducted clinics and master classes in over 80 music universities, conservatories, and colleges worldwide. He has also been invited as an Artist-In-Residence in numerous occasions in Finland, Italy, China, Malaysia, Brazil, Portugal and Thailand and has led numerous Summer Jazz Seminars in Italy as the artistic head.

Pekka has released several albums, including "Pekka Pylkkanen: Pekka’s Tube Factory" (1999), "Pekka Pylkkanen Tube Factory: Opaque" (2001), "Pekka Pylkkanen Tube Factory: Listen!" (Lumino Records and Starsing Records for the Chinese market), "Pylkkanen: Nu Bottega" (2020) with an Italian all-star line-up by Challenge Records International, and the latest album "Pekka Pylkkanen & Eric Ineke" (June 2022) also by Challenge Records.

Pekka is a Vandoren artist and represents Ken Okutsu Mouthpieces and Marmaduke Music accessories. He has received several awards and honors, including the IAJE Award in New York in 2007 and the Moods Jazz Award in Switzerland in 2013, recognizing his outstanding achievements as a saxophonist and composer. He has also been recognized for his work as an ambassador of music and culture, receiving honors from the Municipality of Buenos Aires in 2009, the Mayor of La Paz, Bolivia in 2005, and the Finnish-Peruan Association in 2003.

Ireneaos Koullouras was born in Limassol in 1965. From 1975 to 1991, he worked as a bassist in Cyprus, England and Germany. Ιn 1994, he moved to USA to enrol at the Berkley College of Music where he obtained a BA in Professional Music. He, concurrently, studied with Ron Carter, Charlie Banacos and Ed Barker, performed with well-known musicians such as Ofer Ganor, Amos Hoffman, Avishai Cohen, Christos Rafaelides, Steve Hass, Walter Smith, Asaf Uria, Rea Bar Ness, and Bruno Piroth and, regularly, performed in Boston and New York with jazz bands. In 2001, he moved to Athens - Greece where he worked with professional musicians such as Haris Alexiou, Christos Leontis, Nikos Xydakis, Nena Venetsanou, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Pantelis Thalassinos, Socrates Malamas, Alkionoos Ioannides, Phivos Delivorias, as well as with foreign musicians such as Arturo Sandoval, Larry Harlow, Ofer Ganor, Avishay Cohen and others. In 2009, he obtained a Diploma in Bass Performance from the Athens Conservatory (class of Tasos Kazaklis). During his stay in Greece, he taught contrabass at the Nakas Music School and worked as a session musician in recording studios. In 2010, he returned to Cyprus where he regularly works and develops projects with several Cypriot musicians and cultural bodies such as Evagoras Karageorgis, the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra. He founded the “Trio Koullouras” together with George Krasides and George Koulas.

Christos Yerolatsitis is a Cypriot pianist and composer. With an interest in various genres of music, Christos' music can be described as colorful, intuitive and diverse. Christos moved to the Netherlands in 2008 where he lived for 9 years. Soon after his arrival, he entered the Dutch jazz scene and played around the country with well-known artists such as Benjamin Herman, John Ruocco, Simon Rigter, Ben van den Dungen, Ben Van Gelder and others. In 2016 he appeared in the biggest theaters of the country with the ‘Eef van Breen Group’ in collaboration with the extremely successful theater production Borgen’. In 2017, he moved to Mumbai, where he worked as the Head of the Piano Department at the True School of Music, one of the largest music schools in India. During his time in India, Christos performed with several bands at various music festivals and jazz clubs, and shared the stage with such names as Randjit Barot (John Maclaughlin's drummer) and Erik Truffaz (trumpeter), as well as Indian musicians like Sabir Khan (Indian Sarangi) and Bangalore Amrit (Indian Khanjira). Today Christos is mainly based in Cyprus, while he collaborates with various international bands.

Stelios Xydias is a drummer born and raised in Limassol, Cyprus. He received his BA in Music specialising in Jazz Drumming from the Codarts University of the Arts in Rotterdam, Netherlands. He won the Nicolas Economou scholarship in 2009. Known for his versatility going from jazz, groove and different styles keeps him very active in his region. He has collaborated with all the big names in Cyprus as well with some international artists like Guthrie Govan (guitarist), Gilad Atzmon (saxophonist), Offer Gannor (guitarist), Damien Erskine (bassist) and more. Living in Limassol doesn't keep him for appearing in international Festivals as he has performed in Berlin, Athens, Netherlands, London and more. He has appeared in albums from artists like Mighty Sugarcane, Cahit kutrafali, Buray, Andreas Rodosthenous and more, he has also released his personal EP album called “silence” which is a solo drums project in 2014. Fresh in the Bosphorus Cymbal Company as he got his Endorsement with them in 2018.