After another busy school year came to an end, Jamia and I headed back to Greece for a couple of weeks. Greece has become one of our favorite places to visit—a chance to slow down, spend time together, and, if I'm lucky, make some music along the way.
This year marked the second time that Jamia co-taught a Narrative Healing retreat with its creator, Lisa Weinert, at Porto Delfino on the island of Kythera. Since we were making the trip, I flew to Athens a day ahead of Jamia so I could reconnect with friends and perform at the Wednesday night jazz jam session at Norman. Jamia joined me the following day, and after spending a little time exploring Athens together, we rented a compact SUV and began the drive south toward Neapoli before taking the ferry to Kythera.
Performing in Athens
One of the highlights of the trip was performing with the Dimitris Bakos Trio at Norman Bar Athens. A very fun set of standards with these excellent Greek jazz artists was followed by a jam session. It was great seeing familiar faces, meeting some new musicians, and sitting in with players from the Athens jazz scene. One of my favorite moments from the evening was playing Sonny Rollins' "Doxy," especially since his passing earlier this year.
The Journey South
The day after the performance, Jamia arrived in Athens, and after spending a little time exploring the city together, we picked up our rental SUV and headed south through the Peloponnese toward Neapoli. Rather than making the entire trip in one day, we spent the night there and took a side trip to the nearby island of Elafonisos, where we watched the sunset from the beautiful Simos Beach. It was the perfect way to slow down before continuing on to Kythera.
Kythera
The following morning we boarded the ferry to Kythera, where we spent the next week at Porto Delfino. This was our second summer on the island, and it was easy to remember why we had been looking forward to returning.
While Jamia was co-teaching the Narrative Healing retreat with Lisa Weinert, I had the opportunity to slow down and enjoy a very different pace of life than I'm used to in New York. I spent time reading, exploring the island, composing a little, and simply enjoying the rare feeling of having nowhere in particular to be. Jamia and I had plenty of time to visit some new beaches and revisit some of the attractions that we had experienced last year, such as Chora, and the quaint villages of Milopotamos and Livadi.
Music found its way into the trip in other ways as well. One evening I brought my saxophone down to Goldfish Café in Kapsali and played a short solo set overlooking the harbor. It wasn't a formal concert—just an opportunity to enjoy making music in a beautiful setting. Special thanks to everyone at Goldfish Café for the warm welcome, and especially to the owner, whose Instagram account, @IloveKythera, is a wonderful showcase for the island.
Back to Athens
After a wonderful week on Kythera, we boarded the ferry back to Neapoli and began the drive north toward Athens. Rather than flying home immediately, we spent our final two nights on the Athens Riviera, which turned out to be the perfect way to ease back into city life before the trip home.
The Riviera has a completely different feel from Kythera. Instead of quiet villages and winding mountain roads, we were surrounded by seaside restaurants, cafés, marinas, and evening walks along the waterfront. It was a relaxing way to bring the trip full circle.
After nearly two weeks of performances, road trips, ferry rides, beaches, and exploring, it felt good to simply sit back, enjoy a great meal, and reflect on everything we had experienced.
After nearly two weeks of performances, road trips, ferry rides, beaches, and exploring, it felt good to simply sit back, enjoy a great meal, and reflect on everything we had experienced.
On our final evening, I stepped out onto the hotel balcony and watched the last light fade over the water. It was a quiet reminder that every trip eventually comes to an end—but the memories, friendships, music, and inspiration have a way of staying with you long after you've returned home.
I'm grateful to everyone who helped make this trip possible—especially Dimitris Bakos and the musicians at Norman for the opportunity to perform in Athens, the entire Narrative Healing community, Lisa Weinert and Jamia for welcoming me into another unforgettable week on Kythera, and everyone we met along the way.
Until next time, Ελλάδα.
