The Brisbane Jazz Club is all set for an historic performance later this month as a Greek band takes centre stage with an all-out Hellenic show for the first time into its 50-year history.
‘Girl from Greece’, a band featuring the duo of Mel Lathouras and Katerini Manolatos, will delight Brisbane Jazz Club on Sunday 27 July with their show “Saloni Sessions”, a blend of music and storytelling that explores what it means to grow up Greek in Australia.
The singers are no stranger to the venue, having performed there in the past, but it will be the first time ever that a Greek band is performing a fully Greek show at the location.
The duo admitted it is a wonderful feeling for them as they prepare to make history.
“It feels incredibly special,” the pair told Neos Kosmos.
“To know our families and the Greek community will be welcomed into such an iconic venue to celebrate their heritage, while sharing this beautiful music and language with the wider Brisbane jazz audience, is deeply meaningful to us.”
The band expressed their enthusiasm in bringing the show to the Jazz Club, wherein audiences will be invited into their “saloni” as they listen to reimagined Greek classics woven through jazz-fusion arrangements.
The duo, whose interest in music began from childhood, has benefited greatly since first meeting one another in 2022, with the collaboration bringing out a deeper appreciation for jazz music and their Hellenic background.
“I’ve always enjoyed listening to jazz and explored singing a little bit, but this didn’t really expand until I met Mel and we began collaborating and experimenting with different styles,” said Manolatos, who has roots to Ithaki and Kythera.
“It was also where we both began to explore our Hellenic culture in different ways.”
Lathouras echoed her bandmate’s sentiment, noting that it was in meeting her that she began exploring Greek music and language on a deeper level.
“Now, blending my jazz roots with my Greek heritage feels like the most natural and exciting thing to do. And to be creating this with my best mate makes it even more meaningful,” the singer with ancestral roots to Smyrna said.
The duo has cultivated a strong connection to their Hellenic identity through their band which has a deep respect for Greek music, including a bouzouki player who loves to improvise like a jazz guitarist.
“We have worked together in a series of jazz combos and developed Girl From Greece, our project blending Greek classics with jazz, soul, and storytelling,” the musicians said.
Their upcoming show is representative of their passion for Hellenism in various ways, one of which being that they sing both in English and in Greek.
The pair extended its gratitude to the Brisbane Jazz Club and Artistic Director Mal Wood for inviting them to perform their show, the latest milestone for the band.
“It has been a wild and rewarding journey so far, from sold-out shows at QPAC presenting our show ‘The Girl from Greece: A Tribute to Nana Mouskouri’ on her 90th birthday in 2024, to growing our signature Greco Retro Jazz sound,” Lathouras said.
“Together, we’re carving out a space where heritage and contemporary artistry meet – and we’re only just getting started.”
