Christos Chatzispyrou

Christos Chatzispyrou is a jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. He completed his Masters Degree on Jazz Performance at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he studied under the guidance of Martin Hathaway, Scott Stroman, Malcolm Edmonstone, Carlos Real-Lopez, Trevor Tomkins and Phil Robson. He is currently studying towards a Doctorate (PhD) on jazz guitar with a Guildhall Scholarship researching the subject of signal processing for the electric guitar in a free jazz context. Born and raised in Athens, by the age of 18 he was already working as a session guitarist in the busy rock venues of Athens. It was at that time when Christos came across some recordings of the Bird and ‘Trane. Fascinated by the long soulful improvisations and the intriguing harmonies and rhythms, he started studying jazz in all its forms from bebop to modal and free jazz. His first record “6 Tales from the City” (TidyLike Records, 2009) is the synopsis of all the years of performing, arranging and composing. The album is a blend of his influences ranging from the Bird and Django to Pat Metheny and Greek traditional music, all from a Brechtian point of view, reflecting Christos’ ethos and roots. During his stay in Wales Christos formed the Three Dots and dug in gypsy jazz. He also took up a guitar tutor post in Aberystwyth University and formed its jazz ensemble. He worked as a private guitar tutor in Aberystwyth and now also works as a guitar tutor in London. Since 2008 he is a member of Ta Mère, a powerful Swing band, bringing the music of 1920’s and ’30s kicking and screaming into the 21st century. With Ta Mère he has toured the UK and Europe, playing in venues such as Cafe de Paris, Pigalle Club, Village Underground, Old Vic Tunnels, Hootananny, Green Note, The Elgin, Ginglik, and festivals such as Glastonbury, Plough Jazz festival, Bimble Inn festival and others. In 2010 he was featured as special guest in Blue Soup‘s second album, produced by top Canadian producer, Paul Milner. He also created the Red Jazz Asymphony Orchestra, a dynamic collective of jazz musicians. In 2011, Christos worked with lyricist and fellow musician Fanis Margaronis in creating a short musical, addressing the recent and ongoing economic crisis, called “A Crisis Tango”. Christos composed and arranged all the music and Fanis wrote the libretto. The project is in the process of being translated in English in order to be presented to the British audience in 2016. 2012 found Christos working as a Musical Director and guitarist in an exciting new project, Dr Schwamp. The project was launched in 2013. The band has independently released three singles. Christos is currently member of the avant-garde jazz trio Told Americans with which he's touring the UK and Europe to promote their latest album 'And The Grey Becomes One'.