Pandelis Karayorgis

Pandelis Karayorgis is a Boston based jazz/improvised music pianist, composer and educator. In the last thirty years mostly led or co-led numerous groups in performances at festivals and clubs in Europe the United States, Canada and Japan. Recordings appear on labels such as Hat Art, HatOLOGY, Clean Feed, Not Two, Leo Records, Nuscope, Boxholder, Okkadisk, Cadence, Accurate, Leo Lab, Ayler and more recently on Driff Records, an artist-run label co-founded by Pandelis Karayorgis and Jorrit Dijkstra. Some of the most extensive recording/performing collaborations have been with Nate McBride, Curt Newton, Ken Vandermark, Mat Maneri, Guillermo Gregorio, Jorrit Dijkstra, Jeb Bishop, Luther Gray, Randy Peterson and Dave Rempis. Pandelis Karayorgis performed and recorded with Joe Maneri, Han Bennink, Damon Smith, Steve Swell, Frank Rosaly, Jason Roebke, Keefe Jackson, Michael Formanek, , Taylor Ho Bynum, John Lockwood and Eric Rosenthal among others. Born in Athens, Greece in 1962, moved to Boston in 1985. Prior to that, studied piano and performed in various jazz groups in Athens while pursuing a degree in Economics. Earned BM and MM degrees in music from Boston's New England Conservatory while studying with Paul Bley, Jimmy Giuffre, George Russell, Dave Holland and Joe Maneri (composition). Studied and performed extensively Thelonious Monk’s and Lennie Tristano’s music and in 1991 compiled a collection of all of Monk's compositions.