Christos Govetas
Encyclopedia
Christos Govetas was born in the village of Proti, Serres
in the province of Serres in Greek Macedonia. After emigrating to Boston in 1978 he joined the Greek rebetiko band Taximi as a bouzouki player and their main vocalist. Since then he has played classical Turkish music on the oud and bendir with The Eurasia Ensemble, Greek, Turkish and Arabic music with Karavani and regional Balkan music with Tito's Revenge and Akshambelah in the Boston area.
He has performed extensively in the U.S., Canada and Greece and has for the last ten years taught and performed Greek regional music in Camps on both coasts of the U.S. Currently he is a member of the nationally known band Ziyia. He performs regularly with Pangeo and a rebetiko
group Pasatempos in the Seattle area. Christos is the 1999 recipient of the prestigious Northwest Folklife Fellowship Award honoring his cultural contribution to the Greek-American and Folk dance communities.
Christos also recorded & toured with Bill Frisell
in 2003 on Frisell's album The Intercontinentals
that was nominated for the Grammy Award in 2004.
Proti, Serres
Proti is a village and a former municipality in the Serres regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Amfipoli, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 2,999 .- Notable people :...
in the province of Serres in Greek Macedonia. After emigrating to Boston in 1978 he joined the Greek rebetiko band Taximi as a bouzouki player and their main vocalist. Since then he has played classical Turkish music on the oud and bendir with The Eurasia Ensemble, Greek, Turkish and Arabic music with Karavani and regional Balkan music with Tito's Revenge and Akshambelah in the Boston area.
He has performed extensively in the U.S., Canada and Greece and has for the last ten years taught and performed Greek regional music in Camps on both coasts of the U.S. Currently he is a member of the nationally known band Ziyia. He performs regularly with Pangeo and a rebetiko
Rebetiko
Rebetiko, plural rebetika, , occasionally transliterated as Rembetiko, is a term used today to designate originally disparate kinds of urban Greek folk music which have come to be grouped together since the so-called rebetika revival, which started in the 1960s and developed further from the early...
group Pasatempos in the Seattle area. Christos is the 1999 recipient of the prestigious Northwest Folklife Fellowship Award honoring his cultural contribution to the Greek-American and Folk dance communities.
Christos also recorded & toured with Bill Frisell
Bill Frisell
William Richard "Bill" Frisell is an American guitarist and composer.One of the leading guitarists in jazz since the late 1980s, Frisell's eclectic music touches on progressive folk, classical music, country music, noise and more...
in 2003 on Frisell's album The Intercontinentals
The Intercontinentals
The Intercontinentals is the sixteenth album by Bill Frisell to be released on the Elektra Nonesuch label. It was released in 2003 and features performances by Frisell, Sidiki Camara, Vinicius Cantuaria, Christos Govetas, Greg Leisz and Jenny Scheinman....
that was nominated for the Grammy Award in 2004.