Greece’s most famous jazz musician may have played with some of the best there is (including ex President of the USA, Bill Clinton) but he’s never happier than back home in Athens., not only holding two teaching posts at the University of Athens and the Hakas Conservatoire, but also hosting two national TV shows and his own national radio show.

It was in the Hellenic capital some 30 years ago that Vassilakis, as with so many talented musicians, started learning to play at a very young age, first the piano, then guitar and violin. Musically talented and academically bright Dimitri later undertook a Chemical Engineering degree at Athens University and signed a record deal with EMI for his own pop band.

After graduation and with the aid of the Onassis Foundation, Dimitri came to British to study at the London College of Music. Five years later he had passed with honours, gained a Diploma in Classical Saxophone and won the coveted London College of Music prize. But is academia didn’t end and with a scholarship from the British Council, Dimitri continued on to advanced studies in jazz saxophone and composition, again passing with flying colours and winning the LRAM Diploma in Jazz Teaching.

Not long after coming out into the real world, Dimitri Vasillaki returned to Athens, where he was a founder member of the International Association of Schools of Jazz. Both as a teacher and as a musician in his own right, he has played and conducted workshops in every European country and in many parts of the world. In the summer of 1999, Candid Records released his debut album, ‘Secret Path’ (CCD 79765). With the help of the Greek Foreign Ministry, a world tour followed that included collaborations with artists such as Abdullah Ibrahim, Ralph Peterson, Andy Sheppard and David Liebman.

Dimitri’s second Candid project, ‘Daedalus’ (CCD 79776) released in 2002 reached widespread critical acclaim and his more recent collaboration with Essiet Okon Essie and Jeff Tain Watts, was released on Candid in 2005, entitled ‘Parallel Lines’ (CCD 79792).