November 10, 2022
On Monday 7 November 2022, for the first time in a simultaneous international appearance on stage, the internationally acclaimed saxophonist, jazz composer and collaborating researcher with the Institute of Informatics and Telecommunications at NCSR Demokritos, Dimitris Vassilakis, led a Jazz concert with Shimon the robot, and its creator Gil Weinberg (Director at the Center for Music Technology, Georgia Tech) at Megaron – Athens Concert Hall in the context of a Jazz festival.
Having been trained in big volumes of different types of data and lyrics, Shimon the robot the manifested its potential, as an equal member of the jazz ensemble, and played the marimba while singing with its own special voice on lyrics written by itself.
In this collaboration, NCSR Demokritos contributed to the systematisation and realisation of a music library that will facilitate the search of music phrases and patterns as well as their use in artificial intelligence applications. NCSR Demokritos aims to research the development of smart algorithms for the creation of new music as well as other relevant interactive applications.
In the context of the concert, a round table discussion was held on Tuesday 8 November 2022 and NCSR Demokritos was represented by IIT researcher Dr. Iraklis Klampanos partaking in a discussion with scientists and researchers in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, technology, robotics and music.
The event is supported by NCSR Demokritos and the Embassy of the United States in Athens.