Jazz Chronicles: Silver Lining

Jazz Chronicles resume in 2023 to inspire music explorations, with a view to jazz as a "music of the here and now," with three new concerts stemming from different parts of the geography of contemporary jazz that will meet on the stage of the SNFCC Lighthouse.

Piano and vibraphone, Giovanni Mirabassi and Christos Rafalides; in other words, Silver Lining. Two renowned and well-traveled musicians join to form a duet that adds a brand-new element to modern-day jazz discourse.

The repertoire ranges from original compositions specifically written for this duo, to covers from Horace Silver to Stevie Wonder, bringing a rich experience and an abundance of emotions.

Their musical DNAs are routed in drama and opera; lyricism being the common denominator of Italians and Greeks respectively. Being band-leaders themselves, the duo conveys a unique sense of maturity and balance, routed in their musical "upbringing" in Europe and the US, as well as their deep respect for one another as musicians.

Italian Mirabassi has lived in Paris since 1992, and has enjoyed nearly four decades of recognition on the music scene since he played alongside Chet Baker - at the age of just 17 - in 1987. He formed various bands, won awards, started his own record label (Jazz Eleven) in 2017, and was recently awarded the title of Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, one of the highest distinctions of the French Republic, for his work.

Rafalides grew up in Greece and went on to live and study on both coasts of the USA before settling down in New York, where he "found his voice" in the band Manhattan Vibes. His track record of collaborations is quite impressive, ranging from Chaka Khan, Jovanotti and Louie Vega, to Mimis Plessas, Dimitra Galani and Alkinoos Ioannidis within Greek territory.

As the two say, what lies at the heart of their cooperation is beauty. "Art exists only to describe extreme situations, as well as how beauty is produced by our souls at the time of its conception."

This event comes under a grant by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). Alongside the majority of its events, which are free thanks to a series of SNF grants, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center also organizes a number of events with affordable tickets, thus enriching its income sources and securing its long-term financial integrity.