World renowned masters bring jazz winds to Istanbul
Güncelleme Tarihi:
ISTANBUL - Kicking off last night with a performance by jazz pianist Kerem Görsev and singer Fatih Erkoç, the 16th International Istanbul Jazz Festival presents renowned jazz masters to music buffs in Istanbul until July 15. Traditional festival events such as a 'jazz boat' and street concerts will once again enliven the city, as they have in previous years.
Young musician Cenk Erdoğan and his band, which uses various instruments in its performances, will take the stage Friday night at Nardis Jazz Club with one of Europe’s most successful female saxophonists, the Dutch musician Tineke Postma. Erdoğan will also later share the same stage in the same venue with arranger and pianist Genco Arı and Italian saxophonist and composer Ada Rovatti.
Singer-songwriter Joe Jackson, who emerged in the late 1970s as part of the furious British new wave in New York, will meet his Turkish fans at Istanbul Modern on July 4.
Internationally known vocalist Yıldız İbrahimova, who interprets Balkan, Turkish and Roma folk music in jazz format, will play Nardis Jazz Club, accompanied by Dutch pianist, composer and arranger Mike Del Ferro, on July 6. The graceful, glittering and warm vocals of musician/composer Melody Gardot, who mingles elegance with mastery in a wide range of genres from blues to jazz to acoustic folk to Latin sounds, will grace the stage of Esma Sultan Mansion on July 7.
The great bass trio
Reflecting his matching of traditional music to contemporary compositions, bassist Kamil Erdem and his group will be accompanied by French accordionist
René Sopa - who takes his inspiration from accordion masters Joss Baselli and Art Van Damme, as well as Carlos Santana and Chick Corea - on July 7 at Nardis Jazz Club. Bass guitar legends Stanley Clarke, Grammy-Award-winner Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten first played together in 2007; their collaboration as SMV has come to fruition with the trio’s 2008 album, "Thunder." These lords of the low frequencies will span a wide range of music, from jazz and funk to ambient and classic, in their July 8 concert at Cemil Topuzlu Open Air Theater.
Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau has recorded and performed extensively since the early 1990s, but his most consistent output over the years has been in the trio format. The Brad Mehldau Trio, including bassist Larry Grenadier and drummer Jeff Ballard, will perform the pianist’s own compositions and covers of well-known songs July 13 at the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall. Considered one of "the hottest names in Afro-Cuban music," Orlando Maraca Valle is highly appreciated for his spontaneously celebratory, rhythmically complex, lyrically clever, instrumentally thrilling music. His spectacular live performances with his band, Maraca’s Otra Vision, embrace Latin jazz and the most danceable tropical rhythms. The band will take the stage July 14 at Esma Sultan Mansion.
As part of the festival’s "New Folk" series, Icelandic poet-singer Emiliana Torrini will meet her fans July 15 at the Istanbul Modern. Torrini sings her own acoustic folk tunes about infatuation, new opportunities, longing and loneliness, her thrilling and sometimes melancholic voice filled with a playful and childish innocence.
Guitarist George Benson, one of the most respected performers of jazz, R&B and fusion, will perform his reinterpretations of Nat King Cole’s classic hits "Mona Lisa," "Stardust," "Route 66," "Nature Boy" and "Unforgettable" - joined by a six-piece choir and the Philharmonia Istanbul Orchestra - July 27 at the Cemil Topuzlu Open Air Theater.
’Encounters with Masters’
As part of the festival’s "Encounters with Masters" events, one of Turkey’s most significant composers, fretless-guitar virtuoso Erkan Oğur, will perform July 10 at Hagia Irene Museum. Oğur will share the stage with the well-known Azerbaijani mugham (a traditional type of folk music) performer Alim Qasimov and Turkey’s foremost classical virtuoso on the lute-like kemençe, Derya Türkan.
The festival’s traditional "Jazz Boat" will depart July 5 from Kabataş pier for a merry ride to Anadolu Kavağı and back. The Istanbul Saxophone Quartet, the New Wave Brass Band from New Orleans and DJ Umut Akgül will entertain guests onboard. In addition, what is sure to be a new festival classic has its debut this year: the Balkan Boat. Running the same route July 12, the trip will feature performances by the Romanian Roma brass band Farfala Shavale, KolektifIstanbul and DJ Ali Doyran.
Once again, the festival cannot be contained to concert halls and clubs (or boats), and the groove overflows to the streets of Istanbul, this time with the sound of one of the most celebrated and entertaining bands in New Orleans. The unparalleled New Wave Brass Band, led by Oscar R. Washington, will perform concerts in various districts.