Kimon Karoutzos (b. Athens, 1995) is a double bassist, composer, and educator. A graduate of the Pallini Music High School, he went on to study at the Department of Music Studies of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the Attikon Conservatory, followed by studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. He later completed his Master’s degree with honors at the Manhattan School of Music in New York on a scholarship, under the mentorship of the legendary bassist Ron Carter, with whom he studied for over three years. During his time at the Manhattan School of Music, he also studied composition and improvisation with Dave Liebman and Phil Markowitz. He holds a Diploma in Classical Double Bass with honors from the Attikon Conservatory (class of Anastasios Kazaglis).
In addition to his formal degrees, he has taken lessons with renowned bassists such as François Rabbath, Rufus Reid, Jeremy McCoy, and Thierry Barbé. He has performed at prestigious international venues and festivals, including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland, North Sea Jazz Festival, Bimhuis, Umbria Jazz Festival, and the Cervo Music Festival, spanning across more than ten European countries, the United States, and South Africa.
In Greece, his appearances include the Athens & Epidaurus Festival, Jazz at the Park, and the Onassis Stegi, among others.
In 2018, he won the Best Soloist Award at the Keep An Eye Jazz Competition in Amsterdam. In 2020 and 2022, he was a semi-finalist in the jazz double bass competition of the International Society of Bassists, ranking among the top ten candidates, while being the first Greek participant in the history the competition. In 2019, he served as a music teacher at the Mott Hall Public School in New York.
He has collaborated with major figures of the international jazz scene, such as Pasquale Grasso, Joe Farnsworth, Alex Foster, Jason Marshall, Tony Lakatos, Dick Oatts, Arturo O’Farrill, Cyrus Chestnut, and Stella Cole. In Greece, he is a member of the Giorgos Kontrafouris Trio and the Dimitris Tsakas Trio, and has collaborated with the ERT Contemporary Music Orchestra and the Athens Philharmonia. He also maintains an active presence in the recording industry.