IN THE BEGINNING: … Jeannie Niokos was born to Greek parents in the small town of  Sigen, German but raised in the city of Toronto. The multicultural environment created between home, school  paved the way for an appreciation of a broad range of musical styles and sounds that ranged from Motown to The Rite of Spring.

Her gift and love of music was discovered from her grade 3 teacher Mr. Schultz, whom appointed her as a soloist in the school chord.  Roughly the same time,  her parents bought an up-wright piano (a massive undertaking for immigrant parents) and piano lessons ensued.  Yearly Royal Conservatory examinations followed and the path to life-long music learning began.

Growing up, Niokos’ musical diet consisted of Byzantine sounds from church, Greek folk music at home, classical piano lessons, school choirs, jazz choirs and a knack for the tenor saxophone. Fortunate to be a part of J.W. Jeffery’s award winning stage band and jazz choir, Niokos was put on stage, in the spotlight and in the recording studio at 17, under the direction of trombonist Paul Minor.

It was the recording of Profile that prompted her to pursue a professional career in music. Her musical pillars quickly became Chick Chorea, Spiro Gyra, Pat Matheney, late great jazzman Moe Kaufman and Manhatan Transfer.

By the end of highschool Niokos was able to boast the following:

• placing 3rd finalist at the Canadian Stage Band Festival, two consecutive years.
• experience in a professional recording studio for the production of the album “Profile” (vocalist and saxophonist)
• performed the CN Tower (Rogers Centre);  Ontario place; Banff Spring Hotel; Carava.
• and had shared the stage with the late great Moe Koffman.

UNIVERSITY: … In 1984, Niokos entered York University and earned a specialized honours degree in piano performance with extra classes in jazz studies (Al Henderson), 20th century improvisation (Casey Sokol), conducting (Jim McKay) and Indian drumming (Dr. Trichy Sankaran).  Highlights of these years include studying the Mrdangam; singing soprano in Beethovens’ 9th, and master classes with the late great Oscar Peterson.

Highlights of her York years include:

• 20th Century Piano Improvisation with Casey Sokol;
• piano performance with Margaret Gibbs and Stephany Sebastian (Canadian Piano Trio)
• Jazz workshops with internationally acclaimed jazz icon Oscar Peterson and Al Henderson (Time Warp)
• Classical Indian Drumming with Dr. Trichy Sankaran
• Composition – Srul Irving Glick
• Conducting- James McKay
• Theory and Harmony – David Lidov
• Ethno musicology – Steve Otto

Her musical influences included: … Ella Fitzgerald; Sarah Vahan, Bartok, Khachaturian, Stravinsky

Vocal coaches included: …

• CLASSICAL Joyce Bretton, Lynda Hymn, Ariana Chris; Bill Perry.
• POP: Bill Vincent, Seth Riggs,
• JAZZ :  Rita Di Ghent

LIFE AFTER YORK: … Upon graduating York in 1987, Niokos founded The Jeannie Niokos School of Music, purchased the basis for   a home recording studio and began composing by day and teaching at night. Her efforts were first rewarded by FACTOR with The New Talent Demo Award.

In 1995 an introspective trip of Canada’s West coast inspired a desire to return and explore the music of her Greek heritage. Within the year she was playing and singing traditional Greek Repertoire at weddings and community functions.

In the summer of 1996 Niokos performed the National Trade Centre at the Canadian National Exhibition when Greece was the featured country. Shortly thereafter, she met mentor Nick Kutsukos while playing Greek Blues (Rebetica) at the trendy bar Klick in Yorkville. The two worked so well together, they embarked on tours from Canada’s West Coast, to Venezuella, and Greece.

“Nick was the only Bouzouki player that I performed with to approach his instrument with the sensitivity of a classical musician. His playing was such an inspiration, I decided to marry him.”DEBUT CD … Getting married in the spring of 1999, inspired Niokos to compose First Dance a.k.a. Olympic Flame. It was based on the vibrant folk rhythm Karsilamas that fused classical and jazz influences throughout.

“First Dance came to me one week after our wedding over the course of a weekend. As any new bride with the hopes and dreams that her wedding would last a lifetime, I hope that First Dance represents the impetus for many more dances to follow.”By the fall of 1999, Niokos had enough material to record her debut instrumental CD release Evolution. She had developed a desire to put the bouzouki in a concert hall setting and proceeded to orchestrate her music appropriately, (Grand Piano, Bouzouki). Pushing boundaries even further, she proceeded to add an unprecedented line up of instrumentation to include: flute, saxophone, bass and drums that would inevitably be reflective of her life-long diverse musical training and influences. Her term contemporary Greek became most appropriate.

MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING … In the fall of 2000, Tom Hanks’ Playtone Production Company came to Toronto to shoot the mega hit film My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Niokos and Kutsukos were asked to record traditional Greek folk songs for the film which later led to the licensing of two original tracks from Evolution. Kutsukos made his movie debut with the performance of Secret Garden and Dear God in the movies Easter scene.

Evolution was later recorded and released in November 2000 and became available for sale nationally at select Indigo Music & Books stores and internationally through various online distributors, i.e., Amazon.com, CD Street, and jeannieniokos.com. Evolution has sold out twice and is currently in it’s third and final running. Evolution will not be reprinted in order to remain a collector’s item.

“Composing Evolution was a fascinating journey for me. In search of my roots as an adult, I actually rediscovered myself as a Greek-Canadian. Evolution and My Big Fat Greek Wedding soundtrack are currently available for purchase here through our secure site.

 highlights of this release include:

• licenscing original music for My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
• Writing Dear Bill Opa in A minor for former U.S. President Bill Clinton
• The licenceing of Secret Garden to EMI Music Canada for the CD release The Best Greek Album…..Ever
• Sharing the spotlight with Julia Roberts in Greece’s national newspaper ETHNOS (June 27, 2004).