Ilios Steryannis’ “Babylonia Suite” – Album Release Concert

Ashkenaz presents the release concert for “Babylonia Suite,” the second album from Toronto jazz drummer and composer Ilios Steryannis. Recorded in June of 2023 at the renowned Canterbury Music Company in Toronto, the album is a co-production between the leader and Juno winning bassist Henry Heillig.

The album’s ten original tracks are inspired in part by Ilios’ family’s Iraqi- and Indian-Jewish roots . It features a sprawling canvas of Middle Eastern, Indo-jazz fusion, funk and hard bop styles, including music by the famed Al-Kuwaiti brothers of Baghdad. The octet’s all-star cast features all those featured on the album, including Ravi Naimpally (tabla), Sundar Viswanathan (bansuri flute), Paul Pacanowski (clarinet), Tania Gill (piano), Henry Heillig (bass), Jessica Deutsch (violin) and Nawras Nade.