Aleko Lionikis: From Chicago to Baltimore on the B3.
On an overcast November afternoon, I met with Aleko Lionikis, a senior in the jazz program at Peabody Institute, at Soup’s On, one of Baltimore’s funkiest little eateries. This tall, slender young musician with a mop of black hair and thick black eyebrows is a man of few words, but as we shared lunch, he told me his story. He is a third-generation organist: his paternal grandmother played organ at a Greek Orthodox church in Chicago, where his grandfather was a priest. His father also took up the piano and the B3 organ, which he had in their home.
There were a variety of influences in this musical family. Young Lionikis grew up with the sounds of Greek Orthodox chants as well as Sergio Mendez’s Brasil 66 and Ramsey Lewis’s The In Crowd (which got his dad interested in jazz). His mom, a vocalist, had a punk rock band that opened for The Smashing Pumpkins. Not too surprisingly, little Aleko started noodling around on his father’s keyboard, and his dad showed him how to play a few tunes, including Eddie Harris’s “Freedom Jazz Dance,” and Charlie Parker’s “Donna Lee” – as well as (what else!) the theme from Zorba the Greek.
From there, Lionikis fils continued noodling and learning and growing as a keyboardist in Chicago. One of his main sources of formal training was from Ravinia, an organization that hosts a series of outdoor musical performances and also runs a jazz education program. His first jam session experience was one hosted by Charles Heath—coincidentally the drummer for Ramsey Lewis. (Years later, Heath invited Lionikis to play in the house band at the same session).
Other local Chicago legends provided encouragement and lessons on and off the bandstand, including bassist Dennis Carroll, saxophonist Ernest Dawkins, drummer Isaiah Spencer, and B3 organist Chris Foreman, amongst many others. His most significant supporter in Chicago was pianist Richard Johnson, whom he met at Ravinia. During COVID, Lionikis was working and going to community college and gigging. One day, just to check in, he called Richard Johnson to mull over some thoughts about possibly attending Peabody. Johnson enthusiastically seconded that idea—and that very day, Lionikis applied. Serendipitously, it was the last day for late application for admission. With Johnson’s recommendation and a successful audition, he was accepted and came to Baltimore in 2023. Johnson is now his teacher at Peabody.
Lionikis says he “loves” Baltimore, which has been very friendly and welcoming to him. He is particularly grateful to multi-instrumentalist Warren Wolf for supporting and advising him and providing opportunities. Those have been plentiful throughout the region—he has played with a large number of our local luminaries, including Warren Wolf, Sean Jones, Tim Green, Rufus Roundtree, Clarence Ward III (with whom he once played for a concert at the women’s prison in Jessup), and many others. Asked with whom else he would love to play, he mentions Nicholas Payton and Kenny Garrett. “A dream, I know,” he adds.
It’s not hard for him to get gigs playing B3—not only in Baltimore and DC but also in Philadelphia and New York City–not only because of his superlative playing but also because there just aren’t that many B3 players around town—notable players in our area include Greg Hatza, Bill Hyde, and Charles Covington. But Lionikis says, “It’s hard to develop a new generation of B3 players when there are so few organs around.” These include one at An die Musik, where Lionikis played with Chicago vibraphonist Joel Ross, and The Hemingway Room, where he played with Clarence Ward III. Keystone Korner also has a digital B3.
While he stays busy as a gigging musician, Lionikis also gets a little income from doing car repairs for friends, having picked up some skills working for an auto repair shop in Chicago. Asked if he has done any composing, he says he has written a handful of tunes. When he does compose, he finds that the tune is “delivered” almost whole into his mind. He hopes to do more composing. As for plans following his graduation from Peabody – they are up in the air. Go back to Chicago? Dive into the scene in New York City? Or continue to build on the reputation that he has gained here in Baltimore? Yes, please!!! Check out his website at https://www.aleko.me/.
–By Liz Fixsen
Liz Fixsen is a semi-professional jazz vocalist and pianist and a regular presence at jam sessions and jazz shows in Baltimore. She edits and writes for the Baltimore Jazz Alliance newsletter and serves on the BJA board.