Gregory Tsatsos

Gregory Tsatsos

Gregory Tsatsos was born in Thessaloniki. He started his guitar study at the age of 10 at the Northern Greece School of Music by playing classical guitar. After two years he switched to electric guitar and he did his first public appearance at the age of 16 at the Music Workshop of Thessaloniki. Since then together with his majoring in Law in the Aristotles University of Thessaloniki he started playing in many local clubs and in clubs in Crete giving concerts all over Greece with various music combos from jazz-rock to jazz and jazz guitar duets. Afterwards, he went to Los Angeles and continued his studies at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood from where he graduated with honors. He had the opportunity there to study and play with great guitarists and jazz musicians like Scott Henderson, Joe Diorio, James Findlay, David Oakes, Don Mock, Jeff Richman, Sid Jacobs, Bob Magnuson, Ralph Humphrey, Carl Schroeder, Dave Pozzi, Gary Willis. He played and recorded there with saxophonist Doug Webb (Freddie Hubbard band). In Los Angeles he recorded his first CD entitled 'Gregory Avenue' in which he demonstrates both his compositional and improvising skills. Later on he participated in the Greek pop group 'Blue' (Ble) playing in the group's first record (sold over 50.000 copies in Greece) and in its first tour in Greece. By the end of year 1997 he formed together with Kostas Anastasiadis on drums Nektarios Karatzis on bass and Giannis Oikonomidis on trumpet the Blue Room Jazz Quartet appearing in the 'Blue Room' jazz club in Thessaloniki. His second CD entitled 'Ten Years After', is already released in Greece. This project contains a mixture of jazz with funk, fusion, hip-hop rhythms, samples and remixes. It contains eight original compositions and two cover tunes. He is currently leading a jazz-fusion trio that already recorded its first CD. A live recording from summer jazz festival "Para thin alos" in Thessaloniki. The new CD is on the record company ANKH and it is entitled "Greek Blues". His trio also performed as a pre-opening band for Scott Henderson's Blues Band first concert of its European spring tour 2005. In 2005 he played with the German trumpet player Thomas Siffling (Nancy Sinatra a.o.) in his first presentation of his last CD entitled Changes. In the year 2001 he founded together with other musicians and music friends in Thessaloniki the 'Jazz and Creative music Club' a non profit organization for the promotion of jazz and creative music. He is a member of the board as a vice-president. He is also an active attorney and a member of the Cultural Committee of the Bar Association of Thessaloniki.