Organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) and sponsored by Garanti BBVA for 23 years, the Istanbul Jazz Festival will once again host leading names and new discoveries from the world of jazz, as well as the stars of contemporary music with many concerts between 27 June and 14 July 2020. The festival will feature more than 250 names in 25 different venues around Istanbul, including familiar ensembles as well as new names and performances in the world of jazz and contemporary music.
Highlights of the festival
The surprises of the 27th Istanbul Jazz Festival this year include Gregory Porter whose deep and powerful voice warms the air with his music and Foals, the band who integrated the new wave and progressive rock sound of the 2000s with alternative genres. A Moodswing Reunion who defines the era of jazz music with performances from Joshua Redman (saxophonist), Brad Mehldau (pianist), Christian McBride (jazz bassist) and Brian Blade (drummer) will also meet with music lovers in the festival.
The festival spreads over two sides of the Bosphorus
The free open-air event, Jazz in the Parks will go beyond its traditional venues Fenerbahçe Park, Beylikdüzü Yaşam Vadisi and Halıcıoğlu Park and bring jazz music to one of the most visited parks at the heart of Istanbul right next to the Bosphorus, Bebek Park on the European side of the city.
One of the hallmarks of the festival, the annual over-night music marathon Night Out, now in its 6th year, has been expanded to two nights with the support of Birlikte Güzel with performances on both the Asian and European sides of the Bosphorus at various venues in both Kadıköy and Şişhane from promising independent artists of the local scene.
A highlight of the festival is the Jazz Boat that returned last year after a nine year break, and will sail once again on the Bosphorus offering a cool jazz day for music lovers withs its matinee and soiree tours in the middle of summer. Stretching from Kabataş İskelesi to Anadolu Kavağı, Jazz Boat will give a sunny tour in the morning and a different musical experience towards sunset for an audience who want a new kind of musical experience.
Festival’s stellar section Vitrin: Showcase for Contemporary Music from Turkey will be held between 1 and 4 July 2020
Following the success of 2017, 2018 and 2019, the festival will once again organise Vitrin: Showcase for Contemporary Music from Turkey that supports successful musicians and ensembles of the local scene in their global outreach, with the support of Birlikte Güzel, on 1-4 July 2020. A group of international delegates composed of leading representatives of international music industry and journalists will explore contemporary music from Turkey together with the festival audience during the first four days of the festival.
The series will feature successful contemporary music and jazz artists and ensembles from Turkey. The concerts, to be held between 1-4 July, will be attended by prominent representatives of the international music industry, in addition to the festival audience. In parallel with these concerts, Turkey’s contemporary music scene will be introduced to the international participants with panels and seminars. The sectoral meetings to be held will bring local and foreign music professionals together and establish relations that will encourage local artists to reach out to the international arena. Vitrin will culminate in the presentation of the Vitrin Tour Support Awards worth of 5,000 Euros to two artists or bands participating in the programme, in support their international tours.
This year, a master class for musicians will also be held in collaboration with the British Council‘s WOW Istanbul World Women’s Festival 2020.
The detailed programme and the complete list of artists included in Vitrin will be announced in the upcoming months.
One full day at the festival will be for children with “A Childlike Day”
A Childlike Day, organised by Istanbul Jazz Festival in cooperation with İKSV Alt Kat this year, will be held in Feriye on Sunday, 12 July with performances and workshops for children. The all-day event for children in the 0-9 age group and their families will include music and visual arts workshops, a musical show on the main stage, jazz concerts in the garden, circus show and interactive playgrounds. In Feriye‘s pleasant atmosphere overlooking the Bosphorus, families will have a chance to spend a pleasant day with art and music.
The 27th Istanbul Jazz Festival Press Meeting
The programme of the 27th Istanbul Jazz Festival was announced at a press meeting held on the evening of Tuesday, 3 March at Orni. Speakers of the meeting were General Director of İKSV Görgün Taner, Garanti BBVA Sponsorship and Event Supervisor Ersin Babaoğlu and Istanbul Jazz Festival Director Harun İzer.
In his opening speech, İKSV General Director Görgün Taner said: “Increasing, facilitating and diversifying participation in artistic and cultural events are among the primary objectives of İKSV. That is why we organise admission-free events at our festivals with the widest outreach possible and bolster our events intended for children. We expect all dwellers of the city to come and enjoy the Jazz in the Parks concerts across the city. The most recent of our annual cultural policy reports, ‘From Early Childhood to Youth: Growing up with the Arts’, has demonstrated that exposure to culture and arts in the early stages of life has a very positive effect on the development of children and young people. Today, we are pleased to have more tools that help us reach out to children such as children’s books that we have published along the past few years and our new venue İKSV Alt Kat located on the ground floor of Nejat Eczacıbaşı Building in Istanbul, dedicated entirely to children. We are committed to sustaining our events for children in our festivals and contribute to raising generations that can appreciate culture and arts. We expect all children who would like to grow up with the arts and their families in our events.”
The Corporate Brand Management and Marketing Communications Director of Garanti BBVA Elif Güvenen said: “Exhibitions, festivals that are more precious than the other are being organized in our country in the field of culture and arts; many of them have been going on for years and draw attention with their continuity. And jazz festivals are among the most prominent events that are helpful for the inclusion of Istanbul among cities of culture. Istanbul Jazz Festival, which is organized for the 27th time this year, is the most important and most influential event in this sense. These long-running festivals just like Istanbul Jazz Festival, while adding richness to the socio-cultural structure of the city, create a bridge between the formation of cultural awakening and the integration of art with the society by reaching to larger masses each year. And we, as Garanti BBVA, are feeling intensively happy to become sponsor of this precious festival that has long become a brand since 23 years and to walk shoulder to shoulder together with İKSV on the way of jazz and music and wish to be together for many years to come.”
Istanbul Jazz Festival Director Harun İzer presented the festival programme and events. The press meeting was also attended by well-known artists and jazz musicians from Turkey.
Festival tickets to go on sale on Saturday, 14 March
Tickets for the 27th Istanbul Jazz Festival go on sale on Saturday, 14 March at 10.30 and are available from Biletix sales points, and also from the main box office of İKSV (İKSV box office is open between 10.00 and 18.00 and is closed on Sundays except for 15 March for general sales.), where tickes can be purchased without a service fee.
Tulip Card holders receive special discounts of up to 25% on their ticket purchases. Priority sales for Black Tulip Card holders take place on 9 March, 10 March for White Tulip Card, and on 11-12 and 13 March for Red, Yellow and Orange Tulip Card holders. For details please visit: iksv.org/en/membership-and-support/tulip-card-membership-programme Between 14 – 21 March, 27th Istanbul Jazz Festival tickets will be 20% discount to all Garanti BBVA credit card holders.
Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Awards
The 27th Istanbul Jazz Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to two veteran names of jazz, Atakan Ünüvar and Barbaros Erköse at the festival’s opening ceremony.
Atakan Ünüvar who spend his musical and educational life as learning mandolin, accordion, piano, saxophone, flute and singing worked with İlhan Feyman, Özdemir Erdoğan and Doruk Onatkut in the local arena. Ünüvar also worked with Kadri Ünalan and Marshall Higgings Orchestra at different places of Europe between the years of 1972 and 1977. He began to work in 1982 at TRT Big Band officially and at the same time, he was one of the founder members of this orchetsra. After he took part as a saxophonist and flutist, he retired from the orchestra in 2008.
Barbaros Erköse was born in 1936 to a family who had emigrated from Thessaloniki to Bursa. His romance with his instrument began when he started playing traditional dance music at a young age. At the age of 12, Barbaros Erköse took lessons with Saffet Gündoğar and a clarinettist Osman Öztabak and learned Western clarinet technique from them. Erköse collaborated with many esteemed musicians from Turkey such as Nesrin Sipahi and Zeki Müren as well as many other musicians from all over the world to explore new ways to nurture the growth of a world music rooted in many soils. Not content to rest upon his laurels as a respected classical Turkish and Rom musician, Erköse sought out projects that dissolve boundaries of nations and genres with many precious musicians such as New York born and bred jazz trombonist Craig Harris and his band, Tunisian oud artist Anouar Brahem and Peter Pannke. Barbaros Erköse is still actively continuing his music life with Erköse Brothers, the band founded with his son and grandson.
This year’s festival campaign
The 27th Istanbul Jazz Festival’s campaign was led by an advisory board comprised of Uğurcan Ataoğlu, Pemra Ataç and Kenan Ünsal. The festival posters was designed by Onur Aşkın whereas the animation movie of the campaign was prepared by Baran Baran and the soundtrack of the film was composed by Cem Tuncer. The posters are inspired by street vendors in summer that we are familiar from the streets of Istanbul.
27TH ISTANBUL JAZZ FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
Sincere interpretation meets a clean and strong vocal
Gregory Porter
Monday, 7 July, 21.30, Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open Air Stage
Born in the US in 1971, Gregory Porter was encouraged towards music by his mother, who didn’t want him to be affected by the racism and violence they had had to live with. That is what lies beneath his saying ‘The world is a chaotic place but music helps embellish it’. He embarked on his musical voyage through the songs of Nat King Cole. After university he started performing at jazz clubs where he worked as a cook. Eventually, his long abandoned lyrics led him to the world’s most prestigious stages when he became famous with his song 1960 What, from his 2010 album Water honouring Martin Luther King. He met with EDM lovers thanks to DJ Claptone’s remix of his album Liquid Spirit. His latest album All Rise was released in April. Throughout his musical voyage, which has led him to earn two Grammy Awards, he has never ceased to wear a hat, which he calls his ‘jazz hat’ or his ‘security blanket’. Porter and his hat are back in Istanbul after a long recess within the 27th Istanbul Jazz Festival.
Festival closing performance by FOALS
FOALS
Wednesday, 22 July, 20.00, Volkswagen Arena
Yannis Philippakis and Edwin Congreave both confess to laugh when recalling their careers’ seemingly helpless beginnings: the former was fired from his job because he accidentally set fire to the place’s mascot while the latter was kicked out of school for constant absenteeism. Yet, both went on to found FOALS, one of the most important indie rock bands in the world today, followed by millions of listeners. The effect their performances exert on viewers, be it in small hostel parties or on the stages of Coachella, doesn’t wear off easily. They gave an account of the source of their energy: ‘In every concert, we play as if it were the last’. The group, long awaited in Turkey, is now a guest of the festival. Brace yourselves for a ‘high’ closing performance on 22 July.
The jazz ‘all-star’ team is in Istanbul
A MoodSwing Reunion
Joshua Redman – Brad Mehldau – Christian McBride – Brian Blade
Tuesday, 14 July, 21.00, Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open Air Stage
‘Jazz can be rough or soft, cold or warm, light or dark. Jazz is for your heart…’ These words are saxophonist Joshua Redman’s answer to those who consider that Moodswing pushed the limits too much… Despite criticism by jazz authorities, this album has kicked started the first chapter in all these artists’ trajectory. Redman and his collaborators on the album, pianist Brad Mehldau, double bassist Christian McBride and drummer Brian Blade are among America’s best jazz musicians today. They are all part of famous ensembles and pursue solo careers. Their concerts are sold out months ahead, musicians line up to collaborate with them. Seeing such iconic figures back together is something really hard to come by. In fact, their reunion is as unmissable a moment as the rarest alignment of four planets.
Summer will come to the city once again with The Jazz in the Parks!
The Jazz in the Parks
Saturday, 27 June, 18.00, Fenerbahçe Park
Sunday, 28 June, 18.00, Bebek Park
Saturday, 4 July, 18.00, Beylikdüzü Yaşam Vadisi
Sunday, 5 July, 18.00, Halıcıoğlu Park
Jazz in the Parks is back this year. These concerts, among the most popular in the festival, call on Istanbul dwellers and travelers to go out and appreciate both music and fresh air. Among this year’s lineup that traditionally features finalists of the Young Jazz auditions figure YĪN YĪN on the second weekend. They draw inspiration from far eastern and psychedelic music. They are coming to Istanbul for the very first time. They describe their own debut album The Rabbit That Hunts Tigers as the ‘background music from a hippie village in the South China Sea in the 60’s’. This year, these free performances, which you can enjoy on parks’ lawns and banks, will take place in Fenerbahçe Park, Halıcıoğlu Park and Beylikdüzü Yaşam Vadisi, but also for the first time in Bebek Park. With Jazz in the Parks, the festival livens up your enjoyment of parks with live music.
Festival’s award ceremony with esteemed jazz musicians from Turkey
The Award Ceremony
Monday, 29 June, 21.00, Austrian Consulate General, Austrian Culture Office Garden
This year the 27th Istanbul Jazz Festival opens with a magnificent night once again. Abiding by its own tradition, the festival’s Life Achievement Award will be given to people who have devoted years of labor to local jazz music. This year the recipients will be Atakan Ünüvar, the senior vocal artist of the TRT Big Band, and world-famous clarinetist Barbaros Erköse. Although he is a virtuoso on mandoline, piano and many other instruments, Ünüvar is mostly famous for his vocal work. He has collaborated with Özdemir Erdoğan, Timur Selçuk and the Marshall Higgins Orchestra. He was the vocal artist in the group, which represented Turkey in the 1984 Eurovision contest. Barbaros Erköse embarked on his personal musical adventure playing traditional dance music as a child. He discovered Western music at the age of 15. The pieces he composed in a jazz style proper to Turkey gained attention and soon his music reached out from the gazino (music and dining halls) of Istanbul and Bursa to the rest of the world. He has collaborated with Zeki Müren and Craig Harris and other similar musicians and his albums have been released by ECM.
Generations of Turkey jazz at the festival stage
TRT Big Band feat. Ece Göksu, Eda And, Selen Gülün, Sibel Köse
Tuesday, 30 June, 21.00, Sultan Park – Swissotel The Bosphorus
An enthusiasm for music that has kept growing for 38 years, the meeting point of Turkey’s talented jazz musicians… The TRT Big Band has been striving to bring jazz music to a wide audience ever since its inception in 1982, after the country’s most successful and distinguished musicians came together. The orchestra has been a long time partner of the festival in accompanying such bright figures as Roy Hargrove, Roberta Gambarini, Christian McBride and Joshua Redman. The ensemble is composed of the country’s most successful jazz musicians, placed under the direction of conductor Serkan Özyılmaz. They perform local and universal pieces. This year, the TRT Big Band’s lively, colourful and energetic performance will accompany four women vocal artist: Eda And, Ece Göksu, Selen Gülün and Sibel Köse.
Sounds from different continents will meet in the Mediterranean
FRESU ● GALLIANO ● LUNDGREN ● Mare Nostrum III // Coşku Turhan Quartet
Wednesday, 1 July, 20.00, Sultan Park – Swissotel The Bosphorus
The members of Mare Nostrum are sometimes referred to as three Europeans who can write poetry with their instruments. Here is how The Guardian describes their ensemble: ‘The perfect mixtion of jazz character and european sensibility’. Formed by trumpetist Paolo Fresu, accordionist Richard Galliano and pianist Jan Lundgren, Mare Nostrum is also the name of the series of three albums the trio has released since its first opus in 2007. The last installation of this series was released last year, presenting the listener with a melodious jazz experience rich in background references. Both the album series and the trio stand as living proof of the amazing things people from different cultural backgrounds can create when they find common ground, such as the Mediterranean, after which they take their name… The concert’s other guest is the Coşku Turhan Quartet. Turhan is pursuing a career as a visual effects specialist, but he has never resolved to abandon music. The group, also formed by pianist Ozan Musluoğlu, Doruk Gönentür and Ferit Odman will add yet another tone to the festival’s colour palette.
Two Night Out on both sides of the Bosphorus
Baba Zula, Ayyuka, Elektro Hafız and many others
Wednesday, 1 July, 21.00, Şişhane
Can Güngör, Sandman Project, Make Mama Proud and many others
Thursday, 2 July, 19.00, Kadıköy and Moda
The festival follows its tradition in programming with the beloved Night Out. It consists of a tour of the Asian side of the city accompanied by music. This year, the traditional route leading from Kadıköy to Moda comprises new venues. The Night Out will present music lovers with concerts in a wide range of musical genres, scattered along such venues as Dorock XL, Moda Sahnesi, Kadıköy Sineması, arkaoda, The Wall Saloon & Performance and KargArt. Put your step tracker on before you embark on the Night Out.
As the Night Out has been expanded to two nights, the route includes Şişhane, İKSV’s ‘hood’ during the first night. Throughout the night, compasses will point toward three venues: the Maestro Donizetti Jazz Club, Salon İKSV and Orni. As to the lineup, it comprises such original, performance and music-wise sprightly formations as BaBa ZuLa, Ayyuka, Yasak Helva, Elektro Hafız and Duble Salih. Comfortable footwear is not compulsory, but highly advised still: you are likely not only to walk, but to dance quite a bit as well.
Local songs: Kardeş Türküler
Kardeş Türküler and guests: Elina Duni & Harris Lambrakis
Friday, 3 July, 21.00, UNIQ Hall
The band keeps these lands’ distinctive musical and dance heritage alive, preserving its essence, from the Balkans to Mesopotamia. It has been communicating its centuries-old stories all across the world, from Istanbul to Australia, from Morocco to Europe. True to its name, Kardeş Türküler (Brotherly Folk Songs), is bringing its multiculturally rich music and –in their own words– ‘hopes for brotherly co-existence in a multi-cultural geography’ to the festival. Ney-player Harris Lambrakis from Greece and Albanian composer and singer Elina Duni will accompany the group’s iconic jazz style, scattered as it is with local folkloric motifs. Everybody is welcome to sing along these familiar melodies, whatever foreign language they might be in, on this summer night aiming at brotherly communion in music and the disruption of prejudice and polarisation.
An all-day festival
Kutiman Orchestra // Emma-Jean Thackray // Seda Erciyes & JmH
Wednesday, 4 July, 16.30, Beykoz Kundura
‘Every city has its own music’ says composer, producer and video artist Kutiman, who is due back in Istanbul this year along with his orchestra. Kutiman, a musician who makes ample use of funk, reggae, electronic and jazz tones to achieve his own style, has released the single Sakla Beni together with Melike Şahin last year. Producer, singer, bandleader and radio DJ Emma-Jean Thackray took the first steps in her musical voyage on the cornet because she fancied its colour and brightness, before mastering another 13 instruments. She played every single instrument on her 2018 album Ley Lines. As for Seda Erciyes & JmH, they will perform pieces from their hip-hop, r&b and jazz repertoire during the opening concert on the outdoor stage. The rest of the lineup for this several- stage, daylong programme, which will allow us to enjoy meditational breaks on the lawns, will be announced in the upcoming weeks.
Fellini soundtracks from the prominent name of Italian jazz for the first time in Istanbul
Enrico Pieranunzi Trio ‘FelliniJazz’
Monday, 6 July, 21.00, Palazzo di Venezia’s Garden
70-year-old pianist, composer and arranger Enrico Pieranunzi is commonly described as ‘Europe’s voice’, ‘the musician who brings about Renaissance with his fingers’ or ‘Italy’s gift to jazz’. He, on the other hand, settles for the term ‘instinctive’ to describe his own music. Following in the footsteps of his jazz guitarist father Alvaro Pieranunzi with the same passion, he completed his musical education and started giving lessons. But soon the academic world felt too static for him and he quit his job to become a musician. He went on to become one of the most prolific jazz pianists on the planet, giving concerts all around the world. He has recorded more than 70 albums, comprising collaborations with such prominent artists as Chet Baker, Lee Konitz, Marc Johnson and Joey Baron. Enrico Pieranunzi is coming to the festival with a repertoire consisting of the unforgettable melodies from Fellini’s film soundtracks, in honour of the latter’s 100th birthday.
An encounter with spiritual jazz
Matthew Halsall & The Gondwana Orchestra
Tuesday, 7 July, Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall
Too modest to dare play the music he has been composing for years under the pretext that it would not be good enough, he is also a brave enough musician to have found a vinyl company in order to help jazz musicians shine worldwide. Trumpetist Matthew Halsall links the secret of compositions to the stories that lie beneath them. One of the most popular figures of spiritual jazz, Halsall describes the music he plays with the Gondwana Orchestra, which he founded, as ‘vulnerable, open and free’. The group has released the albums When The World Was One in 2014 and Into Forever in 2015. When The World Was One was met with such appreciation that it received the iTunes Jazz Album of the Year Award the year it was released. The festival gives you the chance to witness the harmony that occurs between Halsall and the Gondwana Orchestra with your own eyes and ears.
Aura: Musing Orchestra (Conducted by Şevket Akıncı)
Wednesday, 8 July, 20.00, Arter
Music shares the same etymological origin as museum: the muses, goddesses of inspiration in Greek mythology. Yet both seldom come across. Modern Art museums may display artworks that are close to music in shape, but the pieces retained are most often circumscribed to what is considered monumental. The idea for this concert sprouted from just about the opposite of the monument concept: what is aimed at here is collectivity, simultaneous creation in different places, openness to chance and amateurism… Choirs scattered across Arter’s floors perform according to the spectators’ positions, mobile improvisers engage in contests while others stay in the same place and translate the feelings of passers-by. Meanwhile, the trio composed by cellist Anıl Eraslan, bass clarinetist Oğuz Büyükberber and pianist Tolga Tüzün compose background music from all this coming and going. The project’s designer is Şevket Akıncı, its choirmaster is Zeynep Oktar and the musicians who will take part in the concerts are Alper Maral, Amy Salsgiver, Duygu Demir, Elif Canfeza Gündüz, Ertan Şahin, Hazal Döleneken, Korhan Erel, Merve Salgar, Nihal Saruhanlı, Orçun Baştürk, Özün Usta, Sumru Ağıryürüyen, Tamer Temel, Volkan Ergen and Volkan Terzioğlu; but the main creator are the visitors.
From the gazino to world stages: Barbaros Erköse Night
Barbaros Erköse Night
Friday, 10 July, 22.00, Salon İKSV
Barbaros Erköse was born in 1936 to a family who had emigrated from Thessaloniki to Bursa. His romance with his instrument began when he started playing traditional dance music at a young age. His father and brothers were all musicians. As for his clarinet, he inherited it from his grandfather. While in secondary school, he took a stance and dropped school to focus on music. He discovered western music through the lessons he took, aged 15. The pieces he composed in a jazz style proper to Turkey gained attention and soon his music reached out from the gazino (music and dinner halls) of Istanbul and Bursa to the rest of the world. He has collaborated with the likes of Zeki Müren, Craig Harris and Peter Pannke and his albums were released by ECM. Erköse, whose career goes on as part of a group founded by his son and grandson, will receive the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award this year. A musical voyage through Turkish jazz and light music awaits the attendants of this night.
A Jazz Boat experience in the sunshine or under the stars
Jazz Boat
Saturday, 11 July
Morning 11.00 // Evening 17.00, Kabataş Pier
Kabataş – Anadolu Kavağı – Kabataş
The festival will spread to every corner of Istanbul, including its waterways. Revived last year, the Jazz Boat provided music lovers with a chance to spend a fresh day of jazz in the hot of the summer. This year too, the Jazz Boat awaits those in search of a fresh musical experience, with a tour of the Bosphorus. On top of that, two trips are scheduled for the first time this year: one in the morning and a second one in the evening. The choice is yours, between savoring a daytime getaway or enjoying the sound of music towards the sunset. Performances will start before the boat even parts from the pier and resonate on all decks, throughout the trip from Kabataş to Anadolukavağı. If you are looking to enjoy a view of the Bosphorus accompanied by jazz, the Jazz Boat is your match.
The star that keeps the American jazz tradition alive
John Pizzarelli Trio
Sunday, 12 July, 21.00, Istanbul Archeological Museum
The son of famous jazz guitarist Bucky Pizzarelli, guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli learned to follow the beat before he could even speak. He is not only a great musician; he is also a great listener. That is what prompted him to devote whole albums to those from whom he drew inspiration. The jazz albums he has so far devoted to Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington and Paul McCartney are part of what he defines as his effort to rejuvenate and popularize jazz. Back in Istanbul, this time, John Pizzarelli proposes a conversational concert not limited to musical performance, but comprising narrative intermissions where the artist will share his memories. Those looking to enjoy this exceptional artist’s immortal songs and conversation will be welcome at the Istanbul Archeological Museum along the Bosphorus.
Exotic rhythms and a poetic performance
Monsieur Periné
Monday, 13 July, 21.00, The Marmara Esma Sultan Mansion
Monsieur Periné is from Colombia, a land famed for its rich coffee and salsa ensembles. Catalina Garcia, one of the group’s founders, is from the Cali region. She turned to music because of the poverty created by coalmines in this region where the traditional source of income are coffee plantations, where her family worked. As for guitarist Santiega Prieto, he dreamed of living after his idol Django Reinhardt, but could never get his hands on the exact guitar he looked for in his country… Both met while looking for their first gigs and started performing at weddings and small parties. Their performances are so lively and energetic that it’s hard to stay indifferent. When famous personalities started sharing their pieces on through their social networks, they suddenly appealed to hundreds of thousands of peoples. The ensemble was nominated in three categories for the 2019 Latin Grammy Awards with their album Encanto Tropical. The group, which identifies as the ‘new Latin-American movement’ is bringing its colourful stage show to the festival.
Vitrin: Showcase for Contemporary Music from Turkey
1-4 July
Vitrin: Showcase for Contemporary Music from Turkey, which builds on the objective of promoting the cultural values of our country and enhancing the intercultural dialogue, was developed as a project that focuses on jazz and contemporary music. The rapid development of music production in Turkey and the multitude of recently emerging musicians lead to new projects not only in Turkey but also in the international arena, receiving great interest and demand. This productive environment in the local music industry has motivated the Istanbul Jazz Festival to offer an effective international platform for emerging artists. For detailed information about Vitrin: caz.iksv.org/en/vitrin-showcase
The concerts to be held within the scope of Vitrin: Showcase for Contemporary Music from Turkey:
Wednesday, 1 July – Coşku Turhan Quartet
Wednesday, 1 July – Night Out Şişhane
Thursday, 2 July – Night Out Kadıköy
Friday, 3 July – Kardeş Türküler and the guests Elina Duni & Harris Lambrakis
Saturday, 4 July – SEDA ERCİYES & JmH
Open call for young musicians from the festival: Young Jazz
Young Jazz is being organised for the 18th time with the 27th Istanbul Jazz Festival. Young Jazz provides a platform for amateur or emerging musicians and bands to make their early professional stage appearance within the Istanbul Jazz Festival. Every year, the festival opens applications for young musicians from Turkey with interest in classical or contemporary forms of jazz, as well as jazz fusions such as rock, funk, Latin, pop, acid or electronic influenced forms of jazz, soul, R&B, or similar genres. The applicants are invited to submit demo recordings either of their original compositions, or covers of jazz standards or similar songs of their choice. Musicians and bands to take the stage at the Jazz in the Parks event within the festival are then selected by the Young Jazz Selection Committee.
The Young Jazz Selection Committee comprises musician Aycan Teztel, musician Ayşe Tütüncü, musician Cenk Erdoğan, music writer Feridun Ertaşkan, music writer and producer Hülya Tunçağ, musician Kalben, musician Selen Gülün, musician Volkan Öktem, journalist Yekta Kopan, Dr. Hakan Rauf Tüfekçi and Director of İstanbul Jazz Festival Harun İzer.
A variety of pre-festival events
This year, Vikimaraton is being planned to take place as parallel for 30 April International Jazz Day for the first time in Istanbul Jazz Festival. International Jazz Day which is presented on 30 April each year, aims to introduce jazz music to people from all around the world and emphasises its crucial role that overcomes the diversity as a communication style. With this aim, Istanbul Jazz Festival plans The Vikimaraton (an event to enter the content) to increase and vary the information about the jazz musicians from Turkey in the Wikipedia – Free Encyclopedia. The information about this event that will be before from 30 April Intermational Jazz Day will be announced soon.
Another event to be organised before the festival will be the Jazz in Colours workshop series at İKSV Alt Kat: Learning and Interaction Space that is related with the first children’s book of the festival last year. These workshops will be based on the music playlists from the book and will last 7 weeks with 7 themes inspired by the 7 colours of the rainbow. These workshops will be led by Beril Azizoğlu and presented free of charge as of April. Early Childhood Development & Culture and Arts programme was initiated with the support of Bernard van Leer Foundation at İKSV Alt Kat and the first festival children’s book named Jazz in Colours was published last year.
Before the festival, various panels and film screenings are also planning. Detailed information about the events will be announced soon at Istanbul Jazz Festival’s website and the social media accounts.
Supporters of the 27th Istanbul Jazz Festival
The 27th Istanbul Jazz Festival is organised with the support of the Festival Sponsor Garanti BBVA as well as a number of different organisations. Vitrin Series Sponsor festival’s and performance sponsor with the highest contribution is Birlikte Güzel.
The festival is supported under the Automotive Sponsorship of Volvo Car Turkey and with the kind contribution of Anadolu Efes.
Various concerts within the festival are organised with the contribution of Austrian Culture Office, Italian Embassy, Istituto Italiano di Cultura Istanbul, Institut Français Istanbul, Goethe-Institut Istanbul, Consulate General of Israel, The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Beykoz Kundura and British Council.
The 27th Istanbul Jazz Festival also receives support from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Beyoğlu Municipality, Beşiktaş Municipality, Kadıköy Municipality, Beylikdüzü Municipality and Şehir Hatları. Vitrin: Showcase for Contemporary Music from Turkey is also supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The Founding Sponsor of the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts is Eczacıbaşı Group, Official Hotel Sponsor The Marmara Collection, İKSV Insurance Sponsor is Zurich Sigorta, Health Service Sponsor is American Hospital, and other service sponsors are Navitas, GFK, AGC Software, OMD and Loodos Tech.
Istanbul Jazz Festival continues to support gender equality in music industry
Istanbul Jazz Festival will follow it goals for Keychange Programme that controls the gender equality in the music industry this year again. Keychange Programme which promises to give a place for the community and the artists who have least 50 percentage of gender balance untill 2022 in music festivals is a pioneering, international, England-based music entrepreneurship to support gender equality. Istanbul Jazz Festival joined to Keychange in 2019 and over 300 festivals support Keychange programme now. Ankara Jazz Festival and Zorlu PSM Jazz Festival from Turkey are also supporters of Keychange Programme.
Follow the festival on social media and İKSV mobil app
Follow the Istanbul Jazz Festival social media accounts for full details on the festival, as well as video presentations about the musicians and instant updates regarding events.
facebook.com/istanbulcazfestivali
twitter.com/istanbulcazfest
instagram.com/istanbulcazfestivali
youtube.com/iksvistanbul
#istanbulcazfestivali
#iksvseveseve
The festival programme is announced on the official festival website, caz.iksv.org/en and the İKSV Mobil app. The İKSV Mobil app, sponsored by the Loodos Tech, has been redesigned for a better experience. You can create your own profile with newly added features and add your favourite events to your favourites and calendar. You can add the concerts you want to join within the Istanbul Jazz Festival to your calendar and make your own programme via the İKSV Mobil app, which can be downloaded from the AppStore or from Google Play.
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