About
Originally from San Jose, California, Panoutsos studied with Bruce Moyer, principal bass of Monterey Symphony, and John Shifflett, the beloved first-call Bay Area jazz bassist. Both musicians helped to refine Panoutsos’s technique and gave him the skills necessary to pick up work as a sideman, and eventually a bandleader. When he moved to New York, Panoutsos began taking lessons with Martin Wind, Gregg August, and Yasushi Nakamura, in addition to performing several nights a week at clubs in midtown Manhattan and the East Village. Throughout his time in New York, Panoutsos has collaborated with Queens-based singer songwriter duendita, and has performed with pianist Gil Goldstein. During return visits to the West Coast, he has led his own band at the San Jose Jazz Festival, toured locally and recorded with the Richard Howell Quartet, and performed alongside Bay Area improvisers Steven Lugerner and Richard Sears. In addition to his work as a freelance performer, Panoutsos has worked as an educator at the Stanford Jazz Workshop for four years, and continues to teach private music lessons for all ages in Brooklyn.