“The whole album vibrates with pulsating joie de vivre, bright colours and lively rhythms. Great!”
(Florestane Chroche, pianist-magazin.de, April 2022)
(review of “Rapsodia Cubana”)
“…we are dealing with gorgeous music that cannot be dealt with the term “cross over.””
(Frank Piontek – Bayreuther Kulturbrief, April 2021)
(review of “Rapsodia Cubana”)
“Christos Asonitis elicits vocal qualities from his instruments and is wide awake towards chamber music.”
(Matthias Keller – BR-Klassik (Bavarian Radio Broadcast)– Leporello, February 2021)
(review of “Rapsodia Cubana”)
“I bring you an invitation to be transported to a place and times, where falling in love, brings all of us closer to an artform! … These 5 Cuban Pianists and Composers embrace expansive, openhearted vulnerability, as they had never seen before. These 12 oeuvres are played from the heart by Yamilé and Christos, reason why you can’t help, but connect with them ! ”
(Toni Basanta – The Cuban Bridge – A journey through music, January 2021)
(review of “Rapsodia Cubana”)
Read the whole review (in English language)
“Every piece on this amazing album leaps out at you from your speakers like a juggernaut, and each one is fascinating… Is there such a thing as a perfect album? This one surely comes close. Everything about it is charming, engaging and attractive, and there is clearly enough musical variety among these pieces to make it a must-have disc for those who like both Latin classical and pop-jazz music. Maravillosa!”
(Lynn René Bayley – The Art Music Lounge, January 2021)
(review of “Rapsodia Cubana”)
Read the whole review (in English language)
“…a dense soundscape full of patterns and languages that was never boring and always fascinated. Jazz at it’s best.”
(Lichtensteiner Vaterland, September 28, 2020)
(review of Christos Asonitis Quintet’s concert at Tangente Jazz+ Eschen)
“As a composer, Christos Asonitis leaves nothing to chance, but rather places great value on sophisticated arrangements that seem downright classic.”
(Volksblatt, September 28, 2020)
(review of Christos Asonitis Quintet’s concert at Tangente Jazz+ Eschen)
“Christos Asonitis Quintet is without a doubt one of the most beautiful new discoveries of our time”
(Oli Palko, Jazzclub Cave 61 e.V., February 2020)
“This track is great! At first it sounded good in a way as a good score for film made sound or something like that and as it went on it got better and better. When it was over I thought “Damn, this is something I wanna hear more from these guys”. I’m impressed!”
(Peter Tkalec, CJSW 90,9 Radio Calgary Canada, February 2019)
(about the track “Ancient Dance 490 B.C.”)
Many thanks to my schoolmate Joachim Pektzilikoglou for the recommendation and the great support!
“An Ode To The Light” is a wonderful album of European jazz with a few Greek musical “shades”, imaginative orchestrations and high skill levels of all its performers.”
(Thanos Mantzanas – Avgi Newspaper, December 2018)
(about “An Ode To The Light”)
(Sueddeutsche Zeitung Nr. 282, December 2018)
(about Christos Asonitis Quintet’s concert in Seefeld)
(5-Seen-Wochen Anzeiger Nr. 49, December 2018)
(about Christos Asonitis Quintet’s concert in Seefeld)
“… An album that adorns the contemporary Greek jazz discography…Without using extreme and formal formulations, and with a weapon in his exuberant writing, Asonitis knows how to prepare and build unique beauty pieces (“December”), taking all of his musicians (“Ancient dance 490 B.C.”). In Vamvakaris’ song, he is also a true arranger, defining a structure, above and beyond the basic purpose, with many margins of melodic maneuvers, and always close to the basic concept of the album.”
(Phontas Troussas – Vinylmine, October 2018)
(review of “An Ode To The Light”)
Read the whole review (in Greek language)
“A remarkable musical proposal guaranteed, will not leave any jazz lover, (and not only) untouched!“
(Elena Aroni – All4fun.gr, July 2018)
(about “An Ode To The Light”)
“An album full of Greek light and world totality with the music ensemble giving color from beginning to end. (…) Another remarkable work of our own Greek jazzman.“
(Efthimis Paras – jazzbluesrock.gr, July 2018)
(review of “An Ode To The Light”)
Read the whole review (in Greek language)
“This album is particularly characterised by sensitivity in dealing with musical styles as well as by expressive possibilities of the instruments. You can not only feel through the inlet’s accompanying words that this music has a message!“
(Michael Schmidt – BR (Bavarian Radio Broadcast), June 2018)
(about “An Ode To The Light”)
“In the foreground of this album is the community, the humanity and the interaction. (…) Together as quintet succeeds in a unity of expression (…) Even forms of more than ten minutes duration stay interesting and unencumbered by annoying lengths (…) Of course, the variety of rhythms testifies to the fact that Asonitis thinks from percussion, fusing the influences of its Greek homeland with others, especially from the Caribbean, and no less, of course, proves to be a gifted melodic.“
(Oliver Fraenzke – The New Listener, March 2018)
(review of “An Ode To The Light”)
Read the whole review (in German language)
“Christos Asonitis in his debut album “An Ode to the Light” as a bandleader did a serious job. He made an album with his own distinctive sound, without the unnecessary repetitions and babbling. A job that exudes experience, professionalism and high skill. To the end product contributed of course the smart selection of the young musicians who were willing (as it turned out) to support Christos’ vision with their talent. Finally, let’s not underestimate all the hidden work that has been done. From the recording, the mix and all the work of the background to the elaborate and sleek design of the cover.”
(Vasilis Lioris – Moonshine Radio – Jazz On The Web, February 2018)
(review of “An Ode To The Light”)
Read the whole review (in Greek language)
“Everything on “An Ode to the Light” refers to quality (…) A dense and impenetrable jazz, built of exceptional virtuosity and exquisite use of any space. At the same time, a transparent jazz, open to different explanation by the listener, vulnerable to feelings and generous in images.”
(Antonis Kalamoutsos – Against The Silence, January 2018)
(review of “An Ode To The Light”)
Read the whole review (in Greek language)
“Now at the Unterfahrt another musician appeared in the Entre Mundos Project: the Greek Christos Asonitis, which established himself in recent years as one of the best Munich-based jazz drummer and strives for stylistic extension.
Asonitis had built up around him a significantly large percussion apparatus, supplemented by the Latin spectrum, and it is really formidable, how quickly he learned as the only European these mainy latin dance idioms.
Christos Asonitis gives the drum apparatus a versatility that you don’t hear often.”
(Ernst Richter – The New Listener, January 2017)
“A real singer on his instrument and behind it the Greek drummer Christos Asonitis does not stand back. A stable value in the South German jazz and fusion scene, a man who not only never lets arise monotony in the continual permutation’s, metamorphosis’ and variation’s urge, in addition, challenges however also the listeners only up to their limits and just not pointlessly. A creative mind who invents something new at every moment and seems to surprise not only us, but often also himself with it. Asonitis’ solos are compact, clear and besides, built up unconventionally, they look real like compositions. If I say now that he has a fantastic grooving and drive, I risk offending with it his partners what I make though now and then with pleasure, however here would be absolutely inappropriate.”
(Lucien-Efflam Queyras de Flonzaley – The New Listener, June 2016)
“Christos Asonitis is a drummer as imaginative as inconspicuous, highly sophisticated and widely awaked, eliciting an abundance of sound shades and doesn’t slip off into mechanical routine.”
(Lucien-Efflam Queyras de Flonzaley – The New Listener, May 2016)
