Sophia Bilides has been called the foremost practitioner of smyrneika, a cabaret tradition born of Asia Minor Greek refugees in the 1930s-’40s. A second-generation Greek-Italian American, Sophia was ...
The youngish Greek-American oud player Mavrothi Kontanis and his terrific quintet (featuring Greek clarinet star Lefteris Bournias) breathe new life into the Smyrneika cabaret sound and bluesier ...