'SASSY': A tribute to Sarah Vaughan

Technopolis 20 will host the special tribute event ‘SASSY’ for the legendary jazz singer, Sarah Vaughan on Thursday, 17th of August, at 8pm, in the beautiful garden! 

Join the well-established band ‘Alice Ayvazian Jazz Trio’ as they pay tribute to one of the most beloved artists of the 20th century. Vaughan’s interpretations of popular songs helped canonize what is now known as the Great American Songbook. Vocalist Alice Ayvazian will be joined on stage with Loukas Louka (piano) and Costas Challoumas (double bass) with their wealth of experience, expertise, and exciting arrangements of classic jazz songs. A must-see event for all music lovers!

Entrance: 12 euro

Reservations are necessary at 70002420.

A few words about the musicians

Alice Ayvazian received her bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from Berklee College of Music, Boston, Massachusetts, a Master’s in Educational Leadership from Saint Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas and a second Master’s in Classical Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Nicosia, Cyprus. In the United States, she participated as lead and backing vocalist in numerous studio recording projects as well as various performances and concerts. Since returning to Cyprus, she has established her reputation as an active figure in the local jazz scene performing alongside with some of the best musicians in Cyprus. She is the lead vocalist of the Steppin’ Out Jazz Band with Konstantinos Efraimidis (clarinet/saxophone) and Dimitris Miaris (piano). A member of the Cyprus Voice Centre, Alice is also a sought-after clinician and vocal coach. She has presented various vocal workshops & seminars for choirs, educational institutions, and music conservatories. In addition to her singing activities, Alice has conducted research on the early-twentieth-century Armenian composer Komitas Vardapet, which she has presented at the Komitas and Medieval Music Culture International Conference in Yerevan, Armenia (2016). She is currently instructor of Jazz Voice at the Department of Music and Dance at the University of Nicosia (since 2009) and the Director of the University’s Jazz Choir (since 2011). She is also a voice instructor at the Musicopolis music school.

Costas Challoumas was born and raised in Larnaca. He studied pedagogy at the University of Cyprus, where he graduated in 1999. He studied double bass and music theory with Nikos Ioannou and continued his studies at ‘The Collective School of Music’ in New York with Sean Conly and Joe Fitzjerald. For twenty years he is a member of various musical ensembles (traditional, jazz, latin etc) and also of music and theatre performance groups. Amongst others, he was a member of the musical ensemble of ancient instruments “Terandros”, the original Cuban band “Havana Noche” and “Turnaround Jazz Quartet”, while the last years he is the artistic director of “Makam Ensemble”.

Loukas Louka is a Cypriot pianist and music teacher. He started studying classical piano from the age of 8. At the age of 22, he began studying jazz piano with Cypriot jazz pianist Marios Toumbas and later he had lessons on jazz improvisation with Cypriot jazz guitarist Giannos Savvides. He participated for about 2 years in the Jazz Ensembles of the European University under the instruction of Marios Toumbas and also attended the “Jazz Futures” workshops that took place in Nicosia from 2008 until 2011, under the instruction of great jazz musicians from New York, such as Sacha Perry, Vahagn Hayrapetyan, Ari Roland and Chris Byars. In 2012, he succeeded taking the ALCM diploma in Jazz Piano of London College of Music. Since then, he has performed as a member in several jazz combos during various events in Cyprus. Loukas is currently teaching music in elementary schools and also performing jazz music in several jazz venues all around Cyprus.