SWINGING STRINGS

Maria Manousaki : vocals & violin

Apostolos Leventopoulos : guitar

Kostas Kostantinou : upright bass

Sera Bellos : drums

Comprised of four of the most active professional musicians in Greece, “Swinging Strings” are the perfect choice for your wedding or event. Having played hundreds of live dates over the years, they have performed at literally every type of venue, from private parties, restaurants and clubs, hotel and convention events, to festivals, international tours and studio dates.

Their repertoire includes hundreds of Jazz standards tunes, and a selection of pop songs and movie themes, arranged in the idioms of jazz and swing, which is the stylistic focus of the band. Depending on the occasion they may perform as a vocals/violin and guitar duet, a vocals/violin, guitar and bass trio, or a full swing jazz quartet with drums.

Swinging Strings will bring a fun, vintage vibe show, coupled with virtuosic musicianship and seasoned stage presence to your event.

Based in New York City, the violinist Maria Manousaki is a musician with an international presence in Jazz and World music. She studied with a scholarship at Berklee College of Music conservatory in Boston, and graduated with honors. She has appeared at many prestigious events and auspicious venues around the world, such as the Perth Concert Hall in Australia, the Frank Sinatra School of The Arts in New York, the MoMA museum of modern arts, the Lincoln Center, the closing ceremony for the Mediterranean Olympic Games in Pescara Italy and others.

She has opened for Sting and the Pet Shop Boys, has played live with the famous Gypsy Jazz group Rosenberg trio, and has appeared in a video clip of the famous singer Adele. She has two albums under her name, “Sole Voyage” 2016 and “Hidden Trails” 2019.

Apostolos Leventopoulos is a guitarist with a classical guitar degree and a bachelor in jazz guitar from Berklee College of music. He has played with many Greek and internationally known musicians (Gilad Atzmon, Sean Corby, Alex Foster, Marek Patrman, Logan Richardson, Rex Richardson, Peter Slavov, Dayna Stephens, Erik Vermeulen, Jason Yarde), in Jazz, Funk and World music groups, has performed at festivals and clubs in Greece and abroad (US, Brazil, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Portugal, Singapore), and has an extensive discography as a session musician. He has three albums as a leader, “Acoustic Songs”, “After the Spirit”, and “The Hidden Beauty”.

He has also composed, arranged and performed music for a number of theatre and dance plays and performances for the Greek National Theatre, The National Theatre of Northern Greece, and many theatre and dance theatre companies (Oktana, Dameblanche, Fingersix, Theatre Company Polis, Creo Dance Company, etc..).

He has taught guitar and theory classes for a number of years privately, and at some of the most well known music conservatories in Greece (Philippos Nakas conservatory, Yiorgos Fakanas conservatory). He currently teaches Jazz Guitar, Jazz Theory and Jazz History classes at the Musical Studies Department of Ioannina University.

Kostas Kostantinou has studied at Berklee College of Music. Being one of the most sought after bass players in Greece, he has played with numerous famous Jazz musicians (Lou Donaldson, Peter Berstein, Montenia, Mario Reyes, Jarmo Savolainen, Andy Sheppard, Ralph Peterson, Antonio Rivas, Alfredo Rodriguez, Craig Bailey, Vincent Hector, John Vidakovich, Gene Calderazzo, Alvester Garnett, etc.) in numerous festivals in Greece, Europe and Asia.

He has an extensive discography as a session player, and has been the artistic director of the Modern Music Department of Philippos Nakas conservatory (Berklee’s affiliate in Greece) for many years.

Sera Bellos is one of the most active drummers in the Greek Jazz scene. He has studied in Paris and New York with musicians such as Joe Chambers, Billy Hart, Ali Jackson, Jimmy Cobb, Eric Harland and many more, and has performed with famous players such as Marcus Roberts, Alex Foster, Myron Walden, Bobby Watson, Bobby Few, Curtis Lundy, Eric Burdon, Tia Fuller, Amik Guerra, Deborah J. Carter, Orinn Evans etc.

He has participated in numerous albums as a session player, has led his personal group playing festivals and clubs in Greece and abroad, and has organized numerous projects such as The Frank Sinatra project, Celebrate Jazz Divas, Leonard Cohen tribute etc.