Thompson violinist Steven Tsitsos released Into The West on Nov. 16, his third studio album.
The 22-year-old musician's latest work takes on a spaghetti western theme, with songs from feature films such as The Good, The Bad & The Ugly, For A Fistful of Dollars as well as For a Few More Dollars.
The concept album was new ground for Tsitsos as he collaborated with a few Toronto-based jazz musicians to create the classical/jazz fusion sound that the album maintains.
"It was my first time working with these guys, and I've never worked with jazz artists before," said Tsitsos, "I guess the best way to describe the recording process would be controlled chaos. It was a bit of a daunting task and one of my biggest challenges to date."
Tsitsos recorded the entire album at Studio 211 CBC in Toronto, and from start to finish spent between 50 and 60 hours in the studio.
The 10-song effort on Into The West features works written or inspired by Ennio Morricone, the man responsible for the distinct soundtracks of some of Clint Eastwood's famous spaghetti western films.
"This is all pretty familiar music to a lot of people," said Tsitsos, "but it's my own interpretation on it. I wanted to do it with integrity and approach it with a breath of fresh air."
Tsitsos is the focal point throughout the album, playing front man on his violin. He is backed by Toronto artists David Occhipinti on guitar, Andrew Downing on bass, Terry Clark on drums and Adrean Farrugia on piano. The entire album was arranged by Occhipinti.
The decision to do a fusion/concept album is on that Tsitsos believes allows him to both grow as an artist as well as establish his dexterity.
"I already have a plan to do a rock theme for my next album," said Tsitsos, "my training and background are in classical violin, but I don't want to be branded as the classical guy, I want to be seen as a musician and give listeners a broad spectrum to choose from."
Tsitsos hopes to bring some performances of his latest works to Thompson as part of a tour that is being put in place for the spring of 2012.
"I definitely want to get Thompson involved and have it be a stop for the tour," said Tsitsos.
When asked whether rehearsal time would be a problem for this tour, as Tsitsos still resides in Thompson and the album's jazz artists all live in Toronto, Steven laughs it off as a non-issue.
"We'll rehearse maybe two or three times before hand," said Tsitsos, "but after spending five or six hours a day in the studio with these guys, you kind of get a feel for how they like to operate and we all have good vibe for each other."
While an album has the ability to reach a much more widespread audience, Tsitsos says he prefers live performances.
"I don't really enjoy being cramped in to a studio for that length of time."
Steven's music, bio, blog and tour information can all be found on his website at:
www.steventsitsos.com
