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In 1974, a guy with a moustache approached me after a Penn Balalaika Orchestra concert and made me an offer I couldn't refuse. The guy was John Roussos, recently returned to Philly from Greece with a lovely santouri from Smyrna. He walked up to me and said, "Hey man, wanna play laouto?" I replied, "Sure! Be glad to! ... Uh, what is a laouto?" From that point on, John (Yiannis) Roussos and I have played Greek and Romanian music in Philadelphia and all over the country.
The group Panegyri has been many things at different times over the pastthree decades. It was first configured as Yiannis Roussos (bouzouki and santouri), Alan Zemel (laouto), Mark Jennings (clarinet) and Gerardo Razumney (dumbek). We played at some local dives here in Philly and had a blast. When Mark left town, Bill Lagakos joined the group, then Fran Berge. We've played with local Greek clarinetists and such greats in the world of Greek folk music as Pericles Halkias, Jim Stoyanoff, Sam Chianis, Christos Govetas, and many others of whose names I've managed to lose track.
Panegyri is an interesting word - it means a party or celebration, but it derives from the idea of circling around the whole of life for no other reason than the joy life brings. That's what Panegyri has been for me, a celebration and I thank my fine and long-time friends Yiannis Roussos, Fran Berge, Gerardo Razumney and Georgia Sloane for their endurance and good cheer.
Below are selections from a concert performed at International House of Philadelphia in 1995. Called "The Soul of Greek Music," this concert featured Panegyri in the form of Yiannis Roussos, Dimitry Stoyanoff, Pericles Halkias, Christos Govetas, Alan Zemel and Gerardo Razumney.
Yiassou Pethia!
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