Saxophonist Vasilis Xenopoulos is one of the most accomplished Greek jazz musicians of his generation and a genuine representative of straight ahead jazz. London became his permanent home after graduating with honors from the Berklee College of Music in Boston and gradually established himself as one of London’s up and coming jazz saxophonists. He has worked with some of the best musicians of the International Jazz Scene as a band leader, a section leader and as a guest soloist at various projects.

In 2009 he formed “The Xtet" and their debut album “Loud City" containing 8 original compositions was released on 33Jazz Records in 2011. Two years later he released his second album “The Wind Machine" under the same label, which gained some fine reviews in the top British media such as The Times and BBC radio 3.

In 2017 Nigel Price and Xenopoulos created the XPQ (Xenopoulos/Price Quartet) and recorded their first album under that brand, “Sidekicks" which celebrates some of the most successful guitar/sax pairings in the history of jazz.

The Guardian praised him recently for being one of the leading examples of European jazz musicians who live and perform in Britain and bringing his continental element to the jazz scene. Further to that Vasilis has permanent collaborations with artists from Greece and Cyprus where he performs as a leader or guest artist on a regular basis. As a result he is permanently active in three different scenes/markets (British, Greek and Cypriot).

Vasilis’ charismatic performances reveal his truly fabulous style thus his energy and passion interact with his audience. With his great talent, love and respect. he cherishes the instrument’s challenges and pushes it beyond.

His credits also include seminars on Jazz Saxophone and Improvisation.

His album “DEXTERITY” was released in September, 2019.

Reviews

“One of the most fiery young saxophonists around blazes a path through the hard bop repertoire" (The Times) ★★★★

“A tremendous asset to the UK Jazz Scene" (London Jazz News)

…"A bright newcomer on alto and tenor saxist Vasilis Xenopoulos"… (Evening Standard) ★★★★★

"Old-school warmth and modern day dynamism" JAZZWISE

“When the players are, Xenopoulos and Nigel Price…..the outcome is downright irresistible..(Guardian)★★★★

“Dashing Greek tenorist…real passion…full-blooded, hard-swinging solos”

(Evening Standard)

Although I’ve seen Xenopoulos perform before and have always admired his playing tonight’s show far exceeded my expectations. Over the years I’ve seen plenty of ‘guest London soloist with local rhythm section’ gigs and although largely enjoyable some of them have been a little pedestrian and predictable. Yes, tonight’s show was standards based but there were plenty of surprises in there alongside some of the more familiar chestnuts. But what made tonight truly special was the quality of the playing and the fluency and inventiveness of the soloing, and not just from Xenopoulos. Moloney, Ngo and Trounson proved to be a tight and cohesive unit with an impressive rapport both between themselves and with their guest. This really was a cut above the average ‘guest soloist and local rhythm section’ gig, a fact that was reflected in the positive audience reaction and the very healthy sales of Xenopoulos’ CDs after the gig. It really was the best possible start to KJC’s new season and organiser Annette Gregory must have been delighted.

https://www.thejazzmann.com/reviews/review/aaron-moloney-trio-with-vasilis-xenopoulos-kidderminster-jazz-club-st-ambrose-parish-centre-kidderminster-05-09-2025