News & Updates

Alekos Vretos Quartet – Mediterranean Echoes

New album recording completed at Sierra Studios – Release expected Spring 2026

Athens, Greece — November 2025

Acclaimed oud soloist, composer, and bandleader Alekos Vretos has completed the recording of his highly anticipated new album, Mediterranean Echoes, at the legendary Sierra Studios in Athens. Scheduled for release in March or April 2026, the project represents a major artistic milestone in Vretos’ ongoing mission to redefine the boundaries of Mediterranean jazz.

Building on decades of exploration across cultures and genres, Mediterranean Echoes introduces a fresh and daring concept: a jazz quartet without percussion or drums. This bold decision gives rise to a sound world where rhythm emerges naturally from melodic interaction rather than being driven by traditional rhythmic elements. The result is a spacious, organic, and deeply expressive musical landscape—one in which each instrument breathes freely, shaping the music with intention, nuance, and emotional depth.

The quartet features four musicians whose synergy has been shaped through years of collaboration and shared artistic vision. Vretos anchors the ensemble with the warm, resonant voice of the oud, exploring both traditional modal vocabulary and contemporary improvisational language. Giannis Diskos brings the clarinet’s unmistakable Mediterranean character—lyrical, earthy, and dynamic—while Dimitris Verdinoglou enriches the texture with impressionistic piano harmonies and subtle rhythmic gestures. On upright bass, Kimon Karoutzos provides clarity, resonance, and a grounded narrative thread that holds the ensemble together in the absence of percussion.

A highlight of the album is a newly arranged piece featuring the participation of the acclaimed Quintarco String Quintet, whose sound blends seamlessly with the quartet to create a cinematic, emotionally charged moment within the album. This collaboration expands the color palette of the project, adding depth and elegance while remaining faithful to the Mediterranean sound world that defines Vretos’ musical identity.

The repertoire for Mediterranean Echoes includes original compositions by all four members of the ensemble, emphasizing the project’s collective spirit. These works coexist alongside refined interpretations of pieces by seminal composers such as Ara Dinkjian, Simon Shaheen, and Anouar Brahem—artists whose influence continues to inspire Mediterranean musicians worldwide. This balance between original material and thoughtful homage reflects the ensemble’s respect for tradition while pushing the genre into new territory.

Crucial to the project is the role of live audience interaction, a defining element of the quartet’s performances. Whether on major concert stages or in intimate clubs, the music continually evolves in response to the energy in the room. This recording captures that same spirit—honest, direct, and deeply connected to place, people, and moment.

With Mediterranean Echoes, Alekos Vretos advances his artistic mission: to present a contemporary Mediterranean jazz language that honors heritage while embracing modern creative expression. The album offers a deeply personal perspective, shaped by years of performance across Greece and abroad, collaborations with leading musicians, and a commitment to bridging East and West through sound.

The recordings are now complete, the mixing stage is underway, and the official release is set for Spring 2026.

Stay tuned for updates, previews, behind-the-scenes content, and official release announcements in the coming weeks by subscribing to our newsletter.

A powerful new album that blends contemporary jazz with Mediterranean sensibility, offering both an artistic and deeply human statement. Rooted in personal storytelling while openly engaging with the social and political realities of the region, Mediterranée reflects on themes of migration, coexistence, resilience, and the shared fate of Mediterranean cultures.

The upcoming album unfolds through rich textures and carefully shaped dynamics, allowing Mousadi’s expressive voice to move freely between intimacy and intensity. The ensemble brings together musicians of strong artistic identity: Natassa Mousadi on voice, Alekos Vretos on oud, Yiannis Papadopoulos on piano, Kostas Patsiotis on bass, and Nikos Sidirokastritis on drums. Together, they form a sound world where jazz improvisation meets Mediterranean lyricism and contemporary rhythmic drive.

In her public statements, Mousadi has described Mediterranée as a response to a time marked by division and displacement. The album approaches the Mediterranean not as a border, but as a shared space of memory, movement, and cultural exchange. Through music, Mousadi invites reflection on empathy, solidarity, and the responsibility of artists to engage with the world around them.

Mediterranée is not only a musical release, but a call for dialogue — between peoples, histories, and musical traditions. With its cinematic orchestrations and emotionally charged performances, the album stands as a compelling example of how jazz can remain both socially conscious and artistically daring.

More information about the release date, previews and upcoming performances will be announced soon.

Greek vocalist, composer and bandleader Natassa Mousadi presents Mediterranée.

Athens, Greece — In a recent interview, Greek oud virtuoso, composer and bandleader Alekos Vretos reflects on the artistic philosophy behind Mediterranean Echoes, a project that lies at the heart of his current creative journey. Speaking ahead of his live appearance at Theatre of the NO, Vretos emphasizes that his music is never about demonstration, but communication: “I don’t play in order to impress — I play in order to say something.”

Mediterranean Echoes represents a deliberate rethinking of jazz through a Mediterranean perspective. Drawing from Eastern modal traditions, Greek melodic sensibility and contemporary jazz language, Vretos explores a sound world where storytelling takes precedence over form. The music unfolds slowly, allowing space, silence and interaction to shape the narrative — an approach that mirrors his belief that meaning lies not only in sound, but in intention.

The quartet features Alekos Vretos (oud), Giannis Diskos (clarinet), Dimitris Verdinoglou (piano) and Kimon Karoutzos (upright bass), musicians bound by a deep sense of collective listening. Notably absent are percussion and drums; rhythm emerges organically through melodic interplay and shared musical breath. This choice reflects Vretos’s commitment to interaction over hierarchy, and to music that evolves from within the ensemble rather than being externally driven.

In the interview, Vretos speaks of the Mediterranean as a living, shared space rather than a dividing line — a place where cultures meet, influence and transform one another. Mediterranean Echoes becomes, therefore, both an artistic and philosophical statement: a reminder that music can still function as dialogue, memory and human connection.

The project will be released as an album in Spring 2026, with live performances continuing to shape its evolving form. Check out more, in the press section.

Alekos Vretos on “Mediterranean Echoes”: Music as Meaning, Not Display