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Dennis Pol
About Me
Dion Berardo (Dionysios Polygenis-Berardo) is a jazz guitarist and composer based in New York City. He is
the leader of the Dion Berardo Trio and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects locally
and around the world. His style incorporates elements of bebop, gypsy jazz, contemporary jazz, blues, jazz
fusion, and he cites Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhardt and Biréli Lagrène as having the biggest impact
on his music.
Dion was born in Campobasso, Italy and raised in Megara, Greece. He grew up listening to Eric Clapton, the
Beatles and Pino Daniele with his parents who were rock and blues fans. Though they were not musicians
themselves, his father Leonidas and his mother Massimiliana wanted him to learn the guitar: they gave him
his first instrument when he was six years old.
Dions interest in music took a drastic turn in 2010 when he started studying jazz guitar with Vasilis
Arsenides and Yiotis Samaras. His life changed after hearing Wes Montgomery’s solo on No Blues, which
he transcribed and learned note by note, and soon afterwards he discovered Biréli Lagrène’s Live Jazz à
Vienne, which completely captivated him. At age eighteen, he enrolled at the prestigious Conservatorium
van Amsterdam, went on to win first prize at the Bucharest International Jazz Competition with the AG
Quintet in 2017, and completed his BFA in performing arts in 2018.
In 2019, Dion released his debut album, New York City, featuring Alina Engibaryan on vocals, Omer Ashano
on violin, Joe Bussey on bass, and Josh Kaye on rhythm guitar. In 2021, he recorded his second album Dig!
as a duet with bassist Kimon Karoutzos – with liner notes by legendary jazz bassist Ron Carter. His third
album, Guitarology, is a guitar duologue between Dion Berardo and fellow Greek jazz guitarist George
Koutsi with liner notes by Neal Miner, the great New York native jazz bassist and owner of Gut String
Records. Standards at the Honey Road Studio, is Dions fourth album in a trio setting with Dimitris
Angelakis on vibraphone and Kimon Karoutzos on the upright bass. On this album Dion plays ten of his
most favorite jazz standards and one original composition of his. Dion is currently touring with singer
Tatiana Eva-Marie, featured in her latest project Djangology – a tribute to the compositions of Django
Reinhardt – with an album release planned for January 2023 at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Legendary jazz bassist Ron Carter on “DIG!”:
“…I am often asked by music listeners what jazz records do I listen to…and believe me there are many
choices!! However if I had to settle on a select few, this CD of a bass and guitar duo would most certainly
qualify as belonging in this list…”
“It’s the wonderful sound of a solo guitar that introduces the next song “‘O Sole Mio”, which demonstrates
the grasp of solo guitar on display…this is a track that will command your attention”
—Ron Carter
New York born jazz bassist and owner of Gut String Records on “Guitarology”:
“The guitar duo of Dion Berardo and George Koutsi is a truly special ensemble. Supposedly opposites
attract, but in this case these two young Greek Jazz guitarists have a unique and effortless simpatico… It is
rare to hear young players with such a deep understanding of the Jazz tradition, who also internalize the
music and its language and communicate it in such a personal fashion.”
—Neal Miner
“Dion Berardo is T-riffic…He has Taste, Tone, Time, Talent, and carries on the Tradition of mainstream and
gypsy jazz. I had the pleasure of playing with Dion in Harlem and he got the joint jumpin’.”
—Bill Wurtzel - Director of the Jazz Foundation of America
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