A famous soloist, speaks about the master !

"Light years ahead his time!"

Two great soloists :Manolis Chiotis (top) Nick Tatasopoulos (bottom)

Memories of the innocent age , has the privilege and the honor, to host in a series of future articles, the famous soloist, musician, and composer,  Mr. Nikos Tatasopoulos, son of the unforgettable great composer and soloist Yiannis Tatasopoulos.

" Please allow me to say a few words regarding Manolis Chiotis, since once again several people choose to compare other and “newer”  bouzouki players to him and his accomplishments. 

Unfortunately most  people have very limited knowledge of  his work which in most cases begins circa  1955, and his composition  song "In a  few seconds".- «Σε λίγα δευτερόλεπτα», which was a milestone due to his highly technical intro, and the history of the bouzouki as an instrument in general. 

Manolis Chiotis made his first appeareance in Greek discography as a musician in 1937 at the age of 17,  next to several legendary  Greek composers. The list consists of …Bayanderas,Tountas, Skarvelis, Vamvakaris, Hatzichristos, Tsitsanis. 

In 1939, at the age of 19, he composed and recorded his first  composition with vocalist Stratos Pagioumtzis, "Beautiful Spanish girl “ «Σπανιόλα όμορφη», and his first instrumental as a soloist, "The Passage" «Το πέρασμα» which was  composed by Dimitrios Gogos (Bayanderas). 

In 1940 at the age of  20 , he recorded one of his greatest all time hits, “You don’t say yes as well otherwise known as  “ money doesn’t matter to me” .”«Δεν λες το ναι κι εσύ (το χρήμα δεν το λογαριάζω)»

He continued to record as session musician for major Greek record labels , and at that time had taken a permanent status as a composer and lyricist, writing countless popular masterpieces ...

A note of interest is that immediately following the Second World War,   the first song  recorded was a composition of his entiteld  the "Fine stitch" «Ψιλό γαζί»  sung by Ioanna Georgakopoulou .

Manolis Chiotis

From that point on, Manolis Chiotis, as all soloists of that time, starts to give new elements to the Greek folk music, especially the bouzouki instrument. However his "outlandish" sounds and above all,  artistic quests and experimentation take it to another level ... His compositions are an example of unimaginable virtuosity,even for nowadays. In addition to the speed, all the notes are played clean and accurate, meaningful and with color, but also simultaneously as an example and study of harmony ... This fact for a musician with knowledge is wealth, because knowing the process, there is a greater understanding on what he is playing .. .

Manolis Chiotis

He had "the whole package"

In addition to  being a pioneer in soloist skills  and music composition, Manolis Chiotis,  became a great example to all as an artist on stage ... The clothes, his dress code, his presence, his consistency and work ethics are very different than the current "sloppy-casual-look" of many  "musician-colleagues." Now days, they appear on stage, with T-shirts, torn jeans and sneakers shoes ... In contrast, he took great emphasis in detail, particularly on his presence and his study.

Manolis Chiotis

He never went to the studio to record, without first studying ... He was and still remains teacher of all subsequent soloists, literally and figuratively ... He had ' the whole package' ... light years ahead his time, and he left the greatest legacy for the musical instrument called bouzouki ... All "famous" soloists stepped on  Chiotis music heritage, even those who today have the audacity to publicly state that they became even better than him (...here we only laugh).

Manolis Chiotis

If there were not these examples from  Chiotis  mainly who dared, (and some other soloists of that era), the later ones would not have a base  to step on ... These people largely created a parthenogenesis in music. The 90% of musicians who followed after them, just reproduce music without personal identity ... Neither on the sound or on the phraseology, which ultimately is what matters, not if you play faster than the other player...

Manolis Chiotis

Generally speaking,  comparison is a bad and meaningless thing ... However, when referring to Manolis Chiotis, I will simply reference the lyrics of an  I. Papaioannou song saying:

"See, listen ... do NOT speak!".

                    

                                                                                   Nick Tatasopoulos
                                                            (artcile written in http://www.ogdoo.gr)