Sefardix - Maggid / Poland/Greece
An outstanding vocalist with an exceptional rhythm section. Distinguished jazzmen drawing inspiration from Sephardic music and Mediterranean cultures are promoting their new, great album titled Maggid. Sefardix is a trio comprising Jorgos Skolias and two brothers, Marcin and Bartłomiej Oleś, three important and famous names on the Polish improvised music scene - and beyond!
Jorgos Skolias is known to the jazz, blues, rock and folk audiences for his countless important achievements. He sung with Krzak, Dżem and Leszek Winder Blues Forever, as well as Witold Szczurek’s Basspace, Osjan, Young Power and Pick Up Formation.
He recorded his first album, Zulu, in collaboration with Radosław Nowakowski. Later on, he also engaged in cooperation with Bronisław Duży, Apostolis Antymos, Janusz Grzywacz, Joachim Mencel, Bogdan Hołownia, the Tie Break Band, as well as Cracow Klezmer Band. Together with his son, Antonis, he recently released Kolos.
The Oleś brothers can also boast rich artistic experience. They recorded with exceptional representatives of Polish and world jazz scene, such as Mikołaj Trzaska, Andrzej Przybielski, Adam Pierończyk, Theo Jorgensmann, Ken Vandermark, Erik Friedlander, Kenny Werner and Simon Nabatov. They also released solo albums, as well as duets. They can certainly be considered the celebrities of Polish improvised music scene.
The band’s first eponymous album with jazz improvisations based on themes from the broadly understood Sepharidic tradition was released three years ago. It received the title of the Folk Phonogram of the Year in 2013. The audiences were delighted by parts sung by Skolias, as well as instrumental phrases played by the Oleś brothers on upright bass and drums. In their hands, they become almost melodic instruments, swaying and singing.
The latest album, Maggid, released this spring is a continuation of the idea - the trio expands upon the concept, started with the first album. In Eastern European Judaism, maggid means a traditional itinerant preacher, skilled as a narrator of Torah and religious stories, but the term may also refer to a celestial mentor, visiting people in their dreams and visions. On the new album, the members of the trio travel around the Mediterranean Sea, discovering the common world of music for us.
Members of the group:
Jorgos Skolias – vocals
Bartłomiej Oleś – drums
Marcin Oleś – upright bass
The concert took place in 2016.