Istanbul Jazz Festival Announces Program

- The 22nd Istanbul Jazz Festival, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), will be held from June 27 to July 15. The festival will once more host the pre-eminent figures of jazz, as well as the stars of contemporary music in Istanbul.

The festival will radiate the city in jazzy lights with over 35 concerts featuring more than 250 musicians both from Turkey and abroad, including some of the most authentic voices in folk, blues and jazz such as Joan Baez, Jools Holland, Marcus Miller, Melody Gardot and Tigran Hamasyan at more than 15 different venues across the city.

The program of the 22nd Istanbul Jazz Festival was announced at a press conference on March 24.

Istanbul Jazz Festival Director Pelin Opçin gave special mention to the “Jazz at Parks” event and announced this year’s venue was Fenerbahçe Park on the Asian side of the city. She also said events like young discoveries, Northern Lights, “Night Out” in Kadıköy and the club sessions parallel to the festival would help spread the festival among young people and across the city.

The 22nd Istanbul Jazz Festival will open with Emin Fındıkoğlu’s new project, the Emin Fındıkoğlu+12, which will also premiere some of his new compositions, in the garden of the Austrian Cultural Office in Yeniköy on June 27. Doyen jazz musician, pianist and composer Fındıkoğlu will also receive the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award this year.

Young musical prodigy Tigran Hamasyan will be at the festival with two special concerts. On June 30, Hamasyan will render traditional Armenian music at the Hagia Eirene Museum, where he will be joined by the Yerevan State Chamber Music Choir. He will again meet jazz-lovers at the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall.

Legendary folk musician Joan Baez has already left half a century behind in her music career with more than 30 albums, acclaimed as one of the leading female vocals in popular music also known for her activism. Baez will be in Istanbul again after 11 years and singing her unforgettable hits at the Cemil Topuzlu Amphitheater on July 1.

Bass genius Marcus Miller is back at the festival with his latest project Afrodeezia, which will also be released as his 10th album in April. Inspired by the route black music has followed, Marcus Miller will return to the roots of his legacy and together with his new band take his audience on a musical excursion through jazz, Latin music, afro-beat and reggae at the Cemil Topuzlu Amphitheater on July 2.

Charnett Moffett, a true bass legend who has played with many other legends such as Wynton Marsalis, McCoy Tyner and Ornette Coleman and has been featured in 200 recordings will be at the festival with an all-star band. Moffett will make his Istanbul debut at the Sakıp Sabancı Museum on July 3 with his latest project Nettwork, which brings together the virtuosos he has been in close contact with throughout his career.

After her captivating performance that left the audience in awe at the 20th Istanbul Jazz Festival in 2013, Melody Gardot returns to the festival. One of Poland’s best jazz musicians, Wojtek Mazolewski and his quintet will be on stage as the opening act of this concert at the Sepetçiler Pavilion on the night of July 6.

Singer and songwriter Marc Almond will guest star with Jools Holland & His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra at the Cemil Topuzlu Amphitheatre on July 7.

Cuban jazz pianist Roberto Fonseca, who tours the world with the Buena Vista Social Club, will get together with Malian musician and singer Fatoumata Diwara for a warm and rhythmic Afro-Latin music night at the Feriye Restaurant on July 8.

This year’s “Encounters with Masters” that will take place in the garden of the Istanbul High School on July 9 will feature Iranian musician Mahsa Vahdat, Norwegian pianist Tord Gustavsen and Istanbulite percussionist Fahrettin Yarkın.

An American trumpeter of Iranian origins, Amir El Saffar, will take to the stage right before the “Encounters with Masters” concert.

The leading bass and drums duo in Reggae music, Sly & Robbie, will get together with Norwegian jazz trumpet virtuoso Nils Petter Molvaær at the festival for an exceptional concert. The opening act of the concert that will be held on July 11 at KüçükÇiftlik Park will feature Korhan Futacı and the Kara Orchestra portraying Istanbul’s chaos and telling the musical story of insanity in their own style.

A Quartet of Super-Stars will bring the stars of jazz on stage together; Chris Potter on the saxophone, Dave Holland on the bass, Lionel Loueke on the guitar, and Eric Harland on the drums on July 13 at Cemal Reşit Rey.

Another treat of the final days of this year’s festival will be the Australian band Hiatus Kaiyote, which was nominated for a Grammy in 2013 with the song Nakamarra. The band earned great success with its debut album Tawk Tomahawk in 2012 and its second album Choose Your Weapon is due for May 2015. The date and venue for the Hiatus Kaiyote concert will be announced soon.

Tickets for the festival will go on sale April 11.

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