Iordanis Tsomides, nicknamed Jordan, started learning bouzouki in the mid-1940s, after the classic rebetiko period, but that didn’t prevent him from becoming a virtuoso and excelling at rebetiko and popular song and, especially, the art of playing improvisational taxims.
After establishing himself as a musician with touring bands, and playing with Prodromos Tsaousakis at a club in Piraeus, he left for America in 1957. According to the website Rizospastis, “For about 15 years, he would play in clubs in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Hollywood, Las Vegas, Nevada and elsewhere. There he would become famous not only among the Greek diaspora, but also among American listeners, acquiring famous friends and admirers, such as Jack Nicholson, Jane Fonda, Shirley MacLaine and many others.” While in the U.S., he recorded several albums and appeared with saxophonist Phil Woods on the jazz album, Greek Cooking.
When Tsomides returned to Greece, he wound up playing mostly in small clubs. He died in 2006.
Tell Me if You’re Tired of Me, written by Manolis Hiotis, was recorded with Tsomides on bouzouki and Kiki Kokkini singing.
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