Live Jazz events & concerts in Greece

DIMINUITA:George Papadogiannis, guitar – Efie Sarandi, guitar – Kostas Arsenis, bass

DIMINUITA made their first appearance under this name in November 2007. They have long before loved and pored into swing, a kind so special and so rare in Greece.
They have been playing and teaching music for at least fifteen years. For the last four years though, they are solely working on European Jazz (Jazz Manouche). That is the European version of string swing ( also called “chamber jazz), as it was originally played in the 1930’s by Django Rheinhardt and Stephane Grappeli of The Hot Club de France.

DIMINUITA have already performed at several live clubs in Athens. The following are mentioned just for the record: Kyttaro, Parafono Jazz Club, Tchae stin Sahara, Baraki tou Vasili, Bacaro Jazz Club, Dizzy Miles and others.
They also took part in the European music day at Volos in June ’08 and the same month of the next year they played live in Preveza, Parga and Larisa. That summer finished with an appearance at the Athens’ Technopolis.
In February 2009 they contributed to the protest happenings made against the closing of the Kyprou and Patision Park. They also performed at the Navarino Park in March and at the Fine Arts School B-FEST in May. The orchestra presented their work at the 17th International Guitar Festival, which took place at Syros’ capital Ermoupolis in July 2010.

In December 2008 the band held two unique and particularly successful performances entitled “ Django Hiotis- Manolis Rheinhardt” in an effort to connect and chain greek music of approximately the same period, with the European jazzmen of that era.

In March and October 2010 Diminuita made their maiden appearance abroad, playing on a series of gigs at Wereldmuseum in Rotterdam and at De Badcuyp in Amsterdam, Holland. That trip continued and ended in Belgium; They swinged at the Music Village, Archiduc, Art Base, Bonnefoi and Magic Mirrors in Brussels, at the Rosario in Bever, at the Hot Club Reserva in Gent and finally at the Jacques Pelzer Jazz Club in Liege.

On May 1st, triggered by the group’s initiative, the 1st Gypsy Jazz Fest that took place in Gagarin 205 was a major success ( a sold-out concert actually). The occasion was to celebrate the 100 years’ anniversary after Django Rheinhardt’s birth.

Diminuita are a part of the orchestral swing scene, alluding to the pioneers of the Hot Club, playing their own versions of Rheinhatdt’s and Grappeli’s tunes, as well as of other composers’ of that era. They also experiment creating new original compositions.

The emphasis is given in the natural, acoustic sound of the instruments without additional audio effects or interventions. However, the musicians’ freedom to improvise – a typical quality distinct and yet so absolute in all jazz forms — is of primary importance.

Diminuita aim to create a new kind of creative communication in which clear musical expression will be the sole mediator, without the interference of speech or other artificial sound media.

Clear, natural sound from acoustic instruments and freedom of musical expression in a swing atmosphere, in combination with the later bebop form elements and the influence of gypsy music, so obvious throughout Europe.

The band has been occasionally co-working with the Romanian born violinist Damian Dudu from the November 2008 until 2010.
In August 2009 Kostas Arsenis replaced Andrew Mihalos at the bass fiddle. www.diminuita.com