Dean Gionis
Jazz Guitarist and Songwriter for the Hot Club of Buffalo
Featuring Gypsy Jazz
and World Music
After many years in the rock scene, a chance encounter compelled me to unplug and study classical guitar. It was through that study that a love of Jazz & World Music began. In 2005 I formed the group Djambossa, playing a blend of Bossa Nova, Flamenco, and Gypsy Jazz. 8 years later I joined the award winning group, "The Hot Club of Buffalo". I love these styles of music and try to bring them to life during my performances, I currently perform about 80 shows per year at top venues including regional festivals such as the Lewiston and Rochester Jazz Festivals.
I am pleased to announce that I will be recording my 8th record this spring featuring all original songs in the style of gypsy jazz. Stay tuned for news about my new release " Athens to Rio" expected in June!
Video
Performing with my group - The Hot Club of Buffalo
Solo guitar video
Gallery
Coming Soon
REVIEW FROM ARTVOICE BUFFALO
One of the most intriguing features of the Hot Club performances are the original compositions by lead guitarist Dean Gionis, who talks about his music: “I’ve been influenced by the music of the Mediterranean as far back as I can remember. I heard a ton of Greek music growing up as my parents were from Greece. The folk music of Spain, Italy, France and Greece are very like me (my style) in that they have a very emotional component to them. I started playing guitar as a teenager and started writing music immediately. In the last 10 years, I have been most influenced by guys like Ottmar Liebert, Oscar Lopez, and Armik on the Latin side and gypsy jazz greats like Bireli Lagrene and Stochelo Rosenberg. From 1998-2006, I wrote and recorded three records with the alternative rock band Nancyscandy. After many years on the rock music scene I formed the group Djambossa that ran from 2007-2013. That is when I started performing all the cool music that I always loved and continue today as a member of The Hot Club of Buffalo”.
Two of Dean’s works are featured on the group’s new CD, including ‘About 4am Bossa’, about which Dean says “I think about song melodies a lot, actually every day. Sometimes you piece together parts of a melody and it comes together later. When it does, it’s like a bullhorn sounds off in your mind. The story of this song is that I woke up abruptly one day (at 4:00 am) and this melody was in my head. I got up and had to grab a guitar immediately to get the melody recorded to make sure that I didn’t lose any of it. The style is Gypsy Bossa and it happened at 4am, and thus my title.
