Ζαχαρίας Κασιμάτης

Zaharias Kasimatis was born in Smyrna in 1896. He studied music at an early age and in 1916 he was involved in the famous orchestra of Smyrna "Τα Πολιτάκια", playing the mandolin. Later, he replaced the mandolin with the guitar. During the catastrophe of Smyrna he was captured but he managed to escape and come to Greece in 1923. Until his death in 1965, he participated in Smyrneika, folk rembetiko and laika music bands, sometimes as a singer and other times as a guitarist. His first releases were in 1929 at French label Pathé with 2 songs written by Κώστας Σκαρβέλης ("Το Χασαπάκι" - "Η Αλανιάρα") and at German label Parlophone with song "Αλάνης Μάνας Γιος" written by Παναγιώτης Τούντας. A few years later, he sings compositions by Γιάννης Δραγάτσης, Σπύρος Περιστέρης (2) and Ιάκωβος Μοντανάρης, among others. In 1933 Μαρίκα Πολίτισσα sings his very first composition "Δε Με Τουμπάρεις", while his other compositions were performed by Γεωργία Μηττάκη, Κώστας Ρούκουνας and others.