Mihalis Kalkanis Group

The music of the Mihalis Kalkanis Group springs from real-life scenes, which are turned into melodic objects of beauty and then go on their way, taking on a new life. Electronic sounds blend with field recordings, traditional sounds emerge through improvisational processes, and notes and sounds of the world are transformed into a purely jazz style. Experimentation and a minimalist mood penetrate the sound they create. Michalis Kalkanis stands out for his innovative look, his readiness to take risks in order to discover new musical territory. From Bach and Tsitsanis to his own compositions, he is always prepared to take the next step.

Jazz player Mihalis Kalkanis’s band, together with Siberian composer and multi-organist Nadishana, will create an extraordinary show especially for the Summer Nostos Festival, in which music will enter into a dynamic dialogue with video art and narration.

Mihalis Kalkanis comes from a musical family with a long tradition in Asia Minor and Northern Greece, but his own compositions, despite their strong roots, feature distinctly urban references. With a fine classical education, the talented bassist is a master of improvisation and well versed in traditional music, but with a contemporary outlook which allows him to carve bold paths into this tradition. Mihalis Kalkanis’s grandfather played reed instruments for Manolis Chiotis (one of the greatest composers of Greek laiki music and a legendary bouzouki player) and his father is a pianist and composer. Regarding his identity as a composer, Mihalis Kalkanis told culturenow: “Personally as a musician I enjoy being divided between, on the one hand, the study of classical music that requires a Western, rational way of thinking and, on the other hand, looking for my roots with a more intuitive way of thinking, in self-taught and more improvisational traditional music. Of course when I’m writing music I don’t think about all these things. At that point I think that all of the above get tangled up with each other and you just have to be a good observer to choose and work on the strongest and most authentic idea.”

The band consists of Lefteris Andriotis (Cretan lyre), Manolis Yannikios (drums), Mihalis Kalkanis (double bass), Christos Kalkanis (clarinet), and Orestis Benekas (piano, keyboards). Nadishana, who will be playing with them at the Summer Nostos Festival, has worked with Andreas Vollenweider in Switzerland, Ross Daly in Crete and the Hadouk Trio in France, among others. He plays more than 200 instruments, some of which are his own inventions. He has developed new techniques for playing certain instruments, and some, only museum exhibits before he became involved with them, have found new life and expression in his hands. “I believe that music should combine mystical beauty, mastery, innovation, exquisite taste, knowledge, and the message about something deep and beyond. That's what I'm striving for in my own music,” Nadishana says. “Of course this goal is way too high and will never be achieved, but in my opinion, aiming for it is the way to keep your art as sincere as possible.”