Greek Fusion Orchestra Vol​.​1

Greek Fusion Orchestra was formed in 1976 as a radio show with the intent of blending traditional Greek music with progressive jazz-fusion that founder Kyriakos Sfetsas, a composer and musician from Lefkada, had been immersed in during his years in Paris. Though he worked mainly as a classical musician, Sfetsas was a keen ethnomusicologist who deeply researched the folklore and music of his own island, transposing the traditional clarinet melodies for the orchestra’s clarinet and saxophones. You wouldn’t guess it from the quality of these tracks, but most of Greek Fusion Orchestra’s music was almost improvised, as the band would meet just shortly before the show aired and practice whichever piece of traditional music Sfetsas had decided on. He was arguably the first to expand the boundaries of Greek traditional music, opening the doors to what is now a pretty fertile scene, with the likes of experimentalist Tasos Stamou, Crete’s Giorgos Xylouris, and Thracian band Evritiki Zygia leading the way.