Vasilis Kostas is a much-admired lauto (Greek lute) player from Epirus, Greece. He is part of the ‘Global Messengers’, the ensemble of Grammy Award-winning pianist and UNESCO Artist for Peace Danilo Perez. Kostas has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Panama Jazz Festival, and world music conference WOMEX in Poland.
His style on the lauto is based on studying Petroloukas Halkias’s clarinet lines and philosophy on his instrument as well as finding ways to merge jazz improvisation tools with the elements of his musical roots.
Vasilis obtained his degree in Philosophy and Pedagogy at the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Greece and a diploma at the Berklee College of Music.
Later, he graduated from the Masters program of the Berklee Global Jazz Institute in Boston where he studied on a full scholarship.
Vasilis Kostas resides and works in Boston, and travels internationally and throughout the United Stated to present Greek music.
Discography:
The Soul of Epirus, with Vasilis Kostas (Technotropon, 2019)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.