Markos Sifnios

Markos Sifnios (b. 1886 or 1887, Latomi, Chios island, Greece – d. April 5, 1929) arrived in the U.S.in July 1917. By September 1918, he was living on W. 31st St., one block down from the singer Marika Papagika and her husband Constantinos Papagika. He performed with them from their first trial disc in July 1918 through December 1928 on nearly all of the 200 recordings they made in New York over the course of a decade, encompassing a wide variety of styles. When Marika and Costas lived at 215 W 34th St. in the mid-20s, Sifnios moved to number 253 on the same block. He recorded only six instrumental sides under his own name at a single session on Nov. 22, 1927, for Okeh / Columbia in New York City. He was related to some significant publishers of Greek sheet music - particularly the Apollo Music Company, composer Nicholas Roubanis, and producer/ impresario/singer Τέτος Δημητριάδης. He also accompanied the singer Λίζα Κουρούκλη and some of her circle.