Chatzikaleas, Ntanis, Chatzianagnostou Trio

Griogorios Ntanis Studied at the Jazz and Contemporary Music Program of the New School University of New York aiming at Jazz Performance, and graduated in May 2001, BFA with honors. He took private lessons with Peter Bernstein, Vic Juris, Paul Bollenback, Jane Ira Bloom, Richie Beirach, Jamie Haddad, Reggie Workman. He Studied at the Musicians Institute (G.I.T.) for six month in the program Encore. He took private lessons for one year in guitar jazz with Larry Koonse, Ted Greene. He took private lessons by the pianist Carl Schroeder. He studied in Paris for one year at the Programme Jazz Professional I.A.C.P. He studied classical guitar with Dimitris Fabas. He took private lessons in electric guitar with Yannis Spathas, jazz guitar with Giotis Samaras and harmony jazz with Marko Alexiou. He Studied classical piano at the Greece Conservatory (medium class level).

Thanos Chatzianagnostou was born in the city of Volos and from the age of 13 he started playing drums. Within a very short time he was incorporated in the local metal scene, recording and performing in festivals all over Greece. In 2005 he moved to Athens, in order to complete his music studies in Modern Music School. With the guidance of the renowned teacher Nikos Sidirokastritis he turned his attention towards jazz and improvisational music. He graduated in 2007, having attended several jazz workshops and master classes with various jazz musicians and drummers. Since then he has been performing with many jazz groups and in the meantime he is teaching drums. In 2009 he started composing his own music and in the fall of 2010, along with the vocalist Irini Konstantinidi, he formed The Wonder-fall Quartet, where his compositions began to “shape up” and obtain the sound of contemporary jazz. In April of 2011, the group recorded its debut album named The Wonder–fall Quartet.

Stelios Chatzikaleas was born (1985) and raised in Thessaloniki, Greece. He takes his first classical piano and basic theory lessons at the age of 8. In 2005 he starts studying the trumpet next to Konstantinos Gravos at the Municipal Conservatory of N. Ionia in Volos. In 2007 he graduates from the Pedagogic department for primary school education of the Humanities School at the University of Thessaly in Volos and moves to the Netherlands where he joins the jazz department of the Utrecht’s Conservatorium with Angelo Verploegen as his main teacher. He also takes lessons from Kenny Wheeler, Gerard Presencer, Richie Beirach and Hein van de Geyn. During the year 2010-2011 he had the opportunity to study at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Graz in Austria with Jim Rotondi as his main subject teacher, Peter Bernstein and Renato Chicco. Since his staying abroad he participates in recordings and performances of bands with different cultural background and gets involved with improvised music. He performs in Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Cyprus, F.Y.R.O.M. and in February 2011 he forms his own quintet to perform and record his first original compositions album entitled “Urban Stories”, together with Andreas Papagiannakopoulos they found the “Yiafka Playground 3”, a trio that performs their original compositions and he was a member of HKU Big Band and Utrecht Big Band. After his graduation (December 2011) he moves back to Greece where he stays active at the local jazz scene, performing with many respectful musicians and composing music for theater plays and small jazz ensembles.