Manos Achalinotopoulos, considered by critics, composers & musicologists as the best clarinet performer of the new generation in Greece, was born and grew up in Athens where he lived with his Asia Minor origin parents. He started learning the flute and clarinet from a very early age. He was taught clarinet by V.Soukas and he studied theory of music next to N.Drellas and M.Tavlos. As of 1990 and afterwards he develops a rich artistic activity both on the level of performances – concerts and in discography. Performances throughout the globe in over 35 countries with the top participations being those in the big Jazz Festival of Montraux both in 1999 and in 2001, in the Sphinx Festival of Belgium, in the Savvorama at the Concert Hall of Athens and of Thessaloniki with Dionyssis Savvopoulos, while he participated with his clarinet as the main soloist in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Athens Olympic Games. Since 1998, his activity has been different from that of pure folk clarinet music, researching, composing and collaborating with musicians from all over the world, issues related to modern modal music creation, modern composition and improvisation, oralities in music and musical modalities in the expression of the clarinet in the modern world. For the critics, what makes Manos Achalinotopoulos so special is the mixing of the traditional style of playing the clarinet and its special idioms with Jazz, Balkan Ethnic style and influences of the western music.