Yiannis Kassetas

Yannis Kassetas studied at the music high school of Pallini , saxophone and classical piano, but it was at the Conservatory of Nakas with professor Dimitri Vassilakis that started playing serious jazz.He took his first scholarship for the student program of the famous Berklee College at 15, and another one when he was 18.He graduated at 21 with a diploma with honors in saxophone (but excelled in courses of Composition, arranging and counterpoint also).

He has four personal albums in the company puzzlemusik, with many great artists of the international scene, as the Clarence Penn, Miles Griffith, Ullysses Owens Jr. and George Kontrafouris, Apostolos Sideris k.a.He has participated in many festivals in Greece and abroad, such as the European festival of Athens and the Choumakao jazz festival in Puerto Rico.

He has worked as a session musician with many bands, in many theatrical musicals but also jazz, rock, latin, pop groups.His new consept group is called "Classics Mutated" and involves famous tunes from all kinds of music , rearranged and reharmonized for a modern -proggressive jazz ensemble.

As a composer he is considered by critics as one of the best in Greece , and his music has been called "provocative and inspiring" [Jason Yarde], "full of original ideas" (Jack Walrath) and "jazz-funk with personal style "jazz & jazz magazine.His last album "East N Blues" was voted from magazine jazz On Line as the best album of 2014 in the Audience Awards, and from Athens Voice magazine as one of the four best works of the year CRITICS AWARDS (all kinds of music).

Recently he composed a suite for the music and dance performance "Moving Sound" by Dimitris Karalis wich was performed by internationally renowned dance company Coda21 in Puerto Rico , in cooperation with choreographer Ana Santsez.

In future plans is the first presentation of Rythmologia of Manos Hadjidakis in cooperation with internationally renowned soloist Engenia Papadima.To work is transcribed for saxophone piano duet and there have been added improvisations.