Ross Daly Quartet Ross Daly - Cretan lyra, rabab, tarhu Ross Daly is one of the most outstanding western protagonists of Oriental music styles. Born in England in 1952, being Irish, he is well- known for his decades of work in the study of various modal musical traditions as well as for his creative work in a category of music of his own creation which he refers to as contemporary modal music. In this genre he freely integrates elements from all of the traditions which he has studied into a new context characterized by a very personal yet timeless sound reflecting an "inner geography" rather than an exterior regionality. Since 1975 he has been based on the island of Crete where he is universally recognized as one of the foremost experts on the island’s rich musical tradition. He is also especially well known and respected for his ability to bring artists of different and seemingly unrelated traditions together in collaborations of unique quality, originality and depth. Giorgos Manolakis - Cretan lute (laouto), vocals Giorgos Manolakis was born in Heraklion, Crete in 1982. He started practicing the laouto at the age of 8 under the guidance of his father, Kostas Zacharopoulos, who was one of the foremost laouto players of his generation. His musical activity is not confined however to Cretan music alone. He is also one of Greece's foremost bouzouki players and his solo improvisations on the laouto, which move freely in and out of various traditional and nontraditional modes, are particularly outstanding. He has collaborated with many musicians and composers such as: Ross Daly, Hainides, Naseer Shamma, Psarantonis, Sokratis Malamas, Zohar Fresco etc. Zohar Fresco - percussion Born in Israel in 1969 to a family of Turkish descent, Zohar Fresco began playing percussion instruments at a very young age. He swiftly became enamoured with Oriental music and began to play with older musicians who had immigrated to Israel from Arab countries. His exceptional musical curiosity and his interest in a wide range of styles have led him to perform with many artists in Israel and abroad. At the age of twenty-one he joined Bustam Abraham. He is also a member of Ziryab Trio and of Arabandi. A small sample of his international credits, apart from the above mentioned groups, include both recordings and performances with renowned composers Phillip Glass, Glen Velez, and Zakir Hussain. Zohar is an integral part of the recordings and worldwide performances of the internationally acclaimed singer Noa. In addition to this, he is a teacher and head of the Oriental percussion department at the Jerusalem Music Academy. Zohar Fresco is a virtuoso of many percussion instruments, and his performances with the darbuka and the frame drums (such as bendir, riqq, and tar) have left audiences all over the world awestruck. After years of playing these instruments, he has developed original techniques that include influences of Arabic, Indian, Persian, and Turkish music, as well as Jazz. Zohar Fresco is undoubtedly one of the best and most sought after percussionists in the world, and a rising star on the international scene. Kelly Thoma - Cretan lyra Kelly Thoma was born in Piraeus in 1978. Since 1995, she has been studying the lyra with Ross Daly and very shortly thereafter has been travelling with him and his group Labyrinth participating in concerts in Europe, Asia and Australia and the U.S. She has taken part in many projects with musicians from various different traditions from other countries, a fact which has resulted in her development of a unique and very personal style of playing. She has collaborated with many important musicians from all over the world such as the Trio Chemirani, Dhruba Ghosh, Ballaké Sissoko, Nayan Ghosh, Mehmet Erenler, Khaled Arman, Hossein Arman, Göksel Baktagir, Yurdal Tokcan, Shubhankar Banerjee, Rufus Cappadocia, Huun Huur Tu and many more. On her debut solo CD Anamkhara, she takes inspiration from many of the traditions which she has approached and studied, but works with these elements in a highly original way thus breathing new life into them. For further information please contact: René Pandis Via Masino 2 CH-6600 Locarno T. +41-91-7514818 C. +41-79-8939480 [email protected] www.pandis.ch .