After 28 years of performing together and 38 years of brotherhood, Spanish guitarists Demitri and Thano Sahnas still have the utmost confidence in each other's musical abilities.
"We get along incredibly well," said Demitri, the younger brother, in a phone interview last week from his Scottsdale home. "It is like two captains on the same ship. There is an instinctive understanding of what's happening next musically, and our strengths complement each other and compensate for our weaknesses."
"We've always played together based on what needed to be played," added older brother Thano in a subsequent interview from Mesa. "We have always been dependent on each other. Without me he couldn't do it and without him I couldn't do it."
The Sahnas brothers — who come to the Westward Look Resort Sunday as part of the Tucson Jazz Society's Summerset Concert Series — are Phoenix-area residents born and raised.
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But the duo celebrates strong ties with Southern Arizona and Sonora.
When the siblings' maternal grandfather emigrated to the United States from Greece during the Depression years, he ended up in Nogales, Sonora, where he raised their mother and her nine brothers and sisters, many of whom still live in northern Mexico.
In fact, it was their family south-of-the-border who first introduced a Latin flavor to their guitar play.
"From infants to age 10 we were always surrounded by music and people who had a passion for music," Demitri said. "But a lot of what we learned was from our uncles who were flamenco and Latin American guitarists. We would play traditional Greek music in Phoenix during the winter and then spend summers in Mexico where they would teach us those styles."
In the meantime, the brothers managed to soak in what was playing on the radio at the time.
"We grew up in the era of early '80s rock," Thano said. "That's when we started picking up our guitars and that's who was on the radio. Our first musical influences as far as learning how to play were bands like AC/DC, Van Halen and Journey. At the same time we had the traditional folk music going and performances in the high school jazz program. We pulled in a lot of different things all at once."
The result was two well-rounded musicians who eventually went on to create one of Phoenix's most popular jazz ensembles, Turning Point, which they continue to perform with to this day.
The pair is not as popular for its duo work, but they have made significant progress since starting the side project four years ago.
"When I picked up the guitar again after playing bass for Turning Point, we started playing at a Spanish restaurant here in Phoenix," Demitri said. "We had such a positive response it felt like we were coming full circle. People asked if we had a CD and we thought 'We have a studio. We should probably make one.' "
Demitri and Thano have since created four albums of raw Spanish guitar play and delicate covers including the holiday release "Songs for the Season" and the tradition-heavy recording "From Mykonos to Madrid."
"When we are not on the road with Turning Point we go on the road with Sahnas and vice versa," Demitri said. "We are always performing. We are blessed and fortunate enough to be making a living doing what we love to do."
"At the end of the day," Thano said. "We get the very unique opportunity to realize together that we have made our dreams come true."
Quick Take
Demitri and Thano Sahnas in concert
Featuring Gabriel Francisco Romo
Presented by: The Tucson Jazz Society
When: 6:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Westward Look Resort main ballroom, 245 E. Ina Road
Cost: $20 with discounts available through Hear's Music, all Bookman's locations, through the Tucson Jazz Society, 903-1265, or at the door
