Greek Music Express: Ethno-Jazz Geniuses: Floros Floridis & The Florina Brass Band | 22 May 2024

Floros Floridis, one of the country’s more accomplished musicians, knows all too well how to solve the dilemma of pioneering artistry versus popularity. Ever since releasing his debut album, the 1979 “Improvising at Barakos” with pianist Sakis Papadimitriou, Floridis, a daringly fluent winds player, has chosen deep-delving experimentation over simplicity and wider acceptance. It’s an ironic position that fills him with both torment and satisfaction, he admits. As a member of rebetiko surrealists Heimerini Kolymvites, one of the country’s biggest cult bands, Floridis often plays to packed clubs around Greece. He also fronts the Balkan-flavoured Florina Brass Band, which we are listening to today.