Rembetika 5: Master of Rembetika 1932-1937

...We were smart guys, said Markos Vamvakaris, We sweated, worked for our money, we had no connection with the bums who stole and did other dishonest things ...I started at the slaughterhouse in 1922 or '23...It stank...I was really down. I was sorry for the poor animals and begged God to find me some other job where I could find peace...In 1924 or '25 I heard Nikos the Aivaliotis playing bouzouki. I liked it so much I swore an oath that if I didn't learn to play, I'd cut my hand off with the meat-cleaver. This important collection of recordings by the traditional Greek musician, Markos Vamvakaris, follows JSP's acclaimed general Rembetika collections (JSP7776 and JSP77105) and those celebrating Vassilis Tsitsanis (JSP77111 and JSP77123). Vamvakaris was the son of a laborer and was exposed to music from an early age. Around 1917 he fled to Piraeus, mistakenly believing that he was wanted by the police. There he worked in a series of grueling jobs, ending up at the Athens slaughterhouse, where he continued to work for many years. He taught himself to play the bouzouki and by the time of his record debut in 1932 had composed several songs. Although - almost inevitably - many of his early lyrics refer to the underworld and hashish, he later broadened his scope and became one of Greece's best-loved popular musicians. This remastered collection of his recordings has all the down-to earth vitality of JSP's earlier collections of this music.