Manolis Koutsounanos was born in Kozani in 1959. At the age of 12 he started playing the trumpet at the Pandora philarmonic of Kozani, under the guidance of Eleftherios Karachalios. As a trumpeter he played dixieland, influenced by Louis Armstrong.

Since 1976 he turned his interest and dedicated himself in drumming. He began studying at the New Conservatory of Thessaloniki, attended workshops in Greece and abroad and became an active member of the jazz scene as a member of Blue Train and then of the Apopsis Τrio. With the Apopsis Trio he released an album entitled "Epiroes" and performed at Euro Jazz San Luis Potosi Festival in Mexico, the Sani Festival and more.

Later, he moved to New York with his son Sotiris (a drummer too), in order to learn jazz and its development better. Returning to Greece he toured all over Europe by an old car, performing on the road.

In 2015 he started recording his personal album, using the Kozani brass section and fusing it with jazz. The album, entitled "Taxidi - From tradition to jazz" was released in 2016 and lead to numerous performances in venues such as The Zappeion, the Athens Concert Hall and the Thessaloniki Concert Hall.