Interview/Performance with Petros Klampanis

Interview and Solo Performance with Newest tutor, Petros Klampanis

In this video, we meet the newest tutor to join the Discover Double Bass faculty, Petros Klampanis. Petros has established his reputation as an acclaimed bassist, composer and producer, being declared a “bass ace” by Bass Player Magazine. With an approach that fuses an array of genres from jazz and classical to Mediterranean and Balkan folk music, he has created a unique and exciting sound that has been hugely popular across the bass world. After following his playing since 2015, it’s an honour to welcome him to DDB.

Meet Petros

Petros has collaborated with world-acclaimed artists such as Greg Osby, Jacques Morelenbaum, Anoushka Shankar, Shai Maestro, Marcus Gilmore, Gilad Hekselman, Snarky Puppy, and Maria Farantouri, among many others. As a bandleader, Petros has recorded 5 albums, with his fourth album, Irrationalities, being awarded in three categories at the 2020 Independent Music Awards, and his most recent, Tora Collective, winning Best Traditional Ethnic Music prize in the quarterly German Record Critics' Awards. He has also worked on solo bass projects such as his YouTube video series and album, Rooftop Stories, and is constantly creating inventive ways to share his captivating melodicism, spellbinding technique and unique sound.

Our discussion covers everything from Petros's musical journey, studying with bass legends such as John Patitucci, his personal approach to improvisation & rhythm, combining jazz traditions with traditional Greek music and his top tips for expanding your musical potential. We also talk about his new course, Bass Odyssey: A Journey to Jazz Bass Mastery.

At the end of the video, Petros gives as a tasteful performance of the standard, Just Friends, showcasing his unique approach to jazz bass.

If you enjoy this video, be sure to let us know in the comments on YouTube and make our newest member of the DDB family welcome.

Timecodes:

00:00 Introduction
01:05 Current projects
02:45 Excerpts from original compositions
04:00 Education
05:50 Playing with Or Bareket
06:50 Blackbird arrangement
07:56 John Patitucci
09:01 Bass and strings
11:40 Petros's influential bassists
13:54 The Rooftop Series
15:25 Petros's approach to solo performances
16:54 Singing and playing
18:11 Developing rhythmic understanding
20:17 Expanding your musical potential
22:09 Solo performance

Petros Klampanis Links:

Instagram
Facebook
Website

Bass Odyssey: A Journey to Jazz Bass Mastery

by Petros Klampanis

Bass Odyssey is an incredible online course by the acclaimed bassist, composer and educator Petros Klampanis. The course is designed for intermediate+ jazz bassists who already understand the fundamentals of improvising and are eager to learn new approaches.

This course comprises a series of mind-blowing lessons, performances, play-along tracks and transcriptions designed to teach a fresh look at improvising as a jazz bassist. From cementing the fundamentals of technique to learning advanced approaches to soloing it's all here to give you the edge you need to play breathtaking bass lines and head-turning solos.