"I would like the teaching of music in a more meaningful way in secondary schools. I would also very much like to see a link between music and various other fields of study."

Pantelis Gertsos: MUSICFOR(ce) for All

Athens, Greece-based electric guitarist, tutor/teacher and director of Musicfor (who runs guitarfor) Pantelis Gertsos is representative of University of West London / Registry of Guitar Tutors in Greece. An active musician and teacher with appearances in various musical ensembles, while participating as a session musician in various recordings of well-known Greek singers. He has worked as a scientific advisor and examiner for postgraduate student scholarships of the State Scholarship Foundation (IKY) and as the Director of Contemporary Music Studies – Professor of Music in various Conservatories throughout Greece (National Conservatory, Sympelius Conservatory, Central Conservatory, Music Studies Conservatory, Music Conservatory Praxis, Contemporary Conservatory, Alkyonian Conservatory, Olympic Conservatory, Corinth Contemporary Conservatory, Chaidari & Kiatos Municipality, Nea Techni Conservatory and others).

(Photo: Greek musician and teacher Pantelis Gertsos, director of guitarfor of the musicfor's network)

The idea of ​​guitarfor was born in 2008 in the mind of Pantelis Gertsou, when at first he decided to move the electric guitar lessons to a small space in Gazi, a few steps from Kerameikos station in Athens Greece. Of course, the aim was not to massify the lessons, but to incorporate many additional activities for his students, and to place them in a wider musical context, where the opportunity for interaction, discussion and exchange of views would be much easier. Therefore, guitarfor is now a member of the subset of the network musicfor. He is in charge of MusicFor, a rapidly growing educational program and Network of Music Schools which renowned artists support by participating in educational seminars and concerts: Kurt Rosenwinkel, Jonathan Kreisberg, John Abercrombie, Bill Frisell, Julian Lage, John Scofield, Larry Carlton, Mike Moreno, Doug Aldrich, Paul Gilbert, Greg Howe, Guthrie Govan and many others.

Interview by Michael Limnios

How has the Jazz music influenced your views of the world? What characterize the philosophy “guitarfor”?

I honestly don't know if it's some elements of my character that connected me to Jazz music or if I was influenced by the feeling of freedom that playing this musical genre gave me, that influenced and still influences my perception of the world and the priorities I set in my daily life. But whatever the case may be of the two, Jazz music has given me the power to constantly look for the reason behind things, just as this community of musicians does. I also felt time take on a different dimension and as a result, I valued everyday life differently.

In terms of GuitarFor's philosophy, I have to say that from the beginning we have treated guitar learning as part of a larger educational program. In the fully equipped studios of our School, we combined courses such as the Alexander Technique and Drama Therapy, while at the same time we considered it our duty to bring our students into direct contact with the greatest guitarists such as Larry Carlton, John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Kurt Rosenwinkel, etc. An additional characteristic of us is the willingness to interact with the students and any new idea they represent.

What moment changed your music life the most? What´s been the highlights in your life and career so far?                                                (Photo: Pantelis Gertsos)

This is a question that needs a careful answer, as various events, whether accidental or not, changed me as a person and as a musician. Two of them are…

Unsatisfied and looking for a feeling of freedom from a young age, I had found in music the absolute ally. Once I finished school, I worked to be able to pay for my music studies until a work accident kept me away from the guitar for months.

I decided to give up music and at the same time go to a school that would take me out to sea, as a captain on a boat giving me back the feeling of freedom and financial independence. After a few months of studying at this school and having a certain attitude, the principal of the school called me to her office. She told me about her personal life, about the wrong choices of her past. The result was to feel familiar and to talk to her about my secret dream as a musician. That's when she gave me the option to be absent from school for a day without any repercussions so that I could have time to think and see the things that really mattered to me.

That honesty of the director was decisive for the rest of my life. I never came back again. My dream appeared again…!

Furthermore, a moment that influenced my career as a musician is the moment I connected the art of music with the art of painting. Painting is also an art that has always attracted my interest. So, having watched an interview with Miles Davis, he wondered how all these students at music universities don't show interest in reading a bit of poetry or a literary book, visiting a museum or a theatre stage, but still want their work to be placed somewhere among the other works of art. Miles himself was angry at such attitudes!

So, with this interview in mind, I was in London and decided to visit the Tate Gallery, which houses a gallery of Picasso's works. One painting that caught my interest had drawings that I couldn't understand, couldn't make sense of.

It was the artist's explanation, however, that would forever define my musical perception.  Picasso said, 'A face consists of two eyes, two ears, a mouth and a nose. Wherever in the painting I have these elements, there is a face.’

BANG! Let’s go back to the beginning...

An arpeggio. Wherever, in whatever order and in whatever octave the notes of a Cmaj7 are played, then the information appears.

Why do you think that the Jazz music continues to generate such a devoted following in Greece?

Jazz music in Greece for some periods had fanatical followers and listeners. The reason perhaps lay in our temperament as a people as well as in our deep pentatonic musical tradition, which helped all of us in one way or another to claim the role of soloist. Unfortunately, today it seems that we are leading to a different era. Smaller audiences, smaller music scenes and musicians not well paid.

At a time when the pace of life is fast and people are looking for the simplistic and easy, Jazz goes against all that. And rightly so...

"I honestly don't know if it's some elements of my character that connected me to Jazz music or if I was influenced by the feeling of freedom that playing this musical genre gave me, that influenced and still influences my perception of the world and the priorities I set in my daily life. But whatever the case may be of the two, Jazz music has given me the power to constantly look for the reason behind things, just as this community of musicians does. I also felt time take on a different dimension and as a result, I valued everyday life differently." (Photo: Pantelis Gertsos)

Are there any specific memories or highlights from MUSICFOR workshops / seminars that you would like to tell us about?

Let's joke around a bit now...

We had Larry Carlton as a guest at the school for a Live / Workshop. Having spent the whole day together and feeling like a little king just walking next to him in the centre of Athens, the evening came. So, after an amazing Masterclass, I asked him to overcome his fatigue in order to go to a local club with several students from the School. Perhaps out of politeness, or perhaps because he wanted to see the way the Greeks entertain, he accepted.

So, upon arriving at the local club, I remember one of my students and a very good guitarist was trying to find a way to express his admiration. Having had a little too much alcohol, he turns his head to Larry, looks him in the eye and says ".... Wow man! I must have had quite a bit too much alcohol today because I think I see Larry Carlton in our company!!!”

What do you miss most nowadays from the music of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future of?

What I miss about the music of the past is being able to associate a personal moment with the purchase of a record. But let's go further back in time.

When Beethoven was rebelling through his musical genius. 

A contemporary concern of mine is the integration of artisanal intelligence into the modern music industry. I feel it's going to spread everywhere, in an erratic way, and it raises questions:

How long will musicians be useful?

And worse, I fear the moment when everything will sound the same to my own ears. With the same volume, same pitch, similar melodies and similar singers.

"I find that Jazz music, although not as popular as other music genres, has an enthusiastic audience. It is a music that easily incorporates new elements, and this always makes it contemporary. Mankind experienced a pandemic and a period when musicians shut themselves up in their homes. Some of them found a solution in organizing online concerts, but their energy was far from that created by the audience and the orchestra in a concert hall. Fortunately, the return to normality has shown that there is still an audience and people interested in what we do!" (Photo: Pantelis Gertsos)

If you could change one thing in the musical world and it would become a reality, what would that be?

I would like the teaching of music in a more meaningful way in secondary schools. I would also very much like to see a link between music and various other fields of study.

What are some of the most important lessons you have learned from your experience in the music paths?

These are some of the lessons I learned because of my involvement with music:

• The virtue of patience and a different perception of time.
• Everything reveals itself when the time and place is right.
• I learned to respect my personal time.
• I learned not to take anything for granted and to prepare for whatever the unexpected comes along.
• I learned to love myself with all my faults and quirks. Some I managed to fix and some I didn't. But they all sound in my playing....
• I am different but I also have so many similarities with other musicians. It's nice to share all this!

Do you think there is an audience for jazz music in its current state? or at least a potential for young people to become future audiences and fans?

I find that Jazz music, although not as popular as other music genres, has an enthusiastic audience. It is a music that easily incorporates new elements, and this always makes it contemporary. Mankind experienced a pandemic and a period when musicians shut themselves up in their homes.

Some of them found a solution in organizing online concerts, but their energy was far from that created by the audience and the orchestra in a concert hall.

Fortunately, the return to normality has shown that there is still an audience and people interested in what we do!

(Photo: Pantelis Gertsos)