Now in its 21st year, the 22-day extravaganza of musical delights will present a melting pot of global jazz spanning American, Scandinavian, Balkan and Middle Eastern sounds with splashes of electronic jazz and swing worked into the mix
With just over a month to the fanfare opening of this year’s Akbank Jazz Festival, one of the most anticipated events on the İstanbul musical calendar, Thursday night marked the festival’s official press conference at the tranquil setting of the waterside Feriye restaurant in İstanbul’s Ortaköy neighborhood.
Now in its 21st year, the 22-day extravaganza of musical delights will present a melting pot of global jazz spanning American, Scandinavian, Balkan and Middle Eastern sounds with splashes of electronic jazz and swing worked into the mix, Akbank’s director of art Derya Bigalı announced in Thursday’s gathering.
Getting under way on Oct. 13 with concerts from the Arild Anderson Trio and the Maffy Falay Sextet, the festival will present 150 artists and also feature panel discussions and workshops alongside 53 concerts to be held across 27 venues -- including the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall, Babylon, the Akbank Art Center, Ghetto, The Seed, Nardis and Santralİstanbul.
Among the top acts featuring in this year’s program is popular French hipster Zaz, who will take to the İstanbul Lütfi Kırdar Convention and Exhibition Center on Oct. 22. Renowned for her unique blending of traditional French sounds with acoustic soul, Zaz’s hits, such as “Les Passants” and “Je Veux,” have been adopted as anthems by alternative, artistic circles across Europe and beyond.
Other acts set to play include Tennessee brass maestro Charles Lloyd and ensemble, Israeli bassist Avishai Cohen, frontrunners of the European jazz scene -- the Arild Andersen Trio, Norwegian soprano saxophone player Froy Aagre, hot favorites on the İstanbul musical scene the Boğaziçi Jazz Choir, young Norwegian experimental dynamo Mari Kvien Brunvoll, upbeat swing master Ray Gelato, who has performed for the English royal family, Cape Verde-born Portuguese musician Carmen Souza, Trinidad-born poet and musician Anthony Joeseph and the cutting-edge Robert Glasper Experiment led by American musician Robert Glasper, a jazz pianist who has worked with the likes of hip-hop giants Kanye West and Mos Def.
But musical performances from global acts are only the tip of the iceberg, with the festival’s organizers presenting a broad range of panel discussions ranging in subject from “Jazz on the Radio” to “Women in Jazz Music” and workshops that promise to provide something to suit everyone’s taste. Along with the “Tap Away” tap dancing and “Light Animation” workshops, “Ezo Sunal Children’s Workshop” provides an introduction to jazz for children and “Mavi Loves Jazz” will provide musical fans to let loose their creative flair and design their own jazz themed T-shirts. The Social Inclusion Band, an innovative initiative launched by the Dream Academy in 2009 that works together with disadvantaged and deprived youth will also be performing a concert at the festival and will hold a workshop.
In one of two exciting additions to the festival program this year, the JamZZ young talent contest offers young talents in their 20s the opportunity to enjoy a jam session on stage at the Babylon club with professional musicians on Oct. 17. Divided into five categories of wind, percussion, string, keys and vocals, applications are open until Sept. 15. The other new addition takes the form of a T-shirt design competition that has seen designs from over 3,000 young designers submitted. The eventual winning design, which will be selected during the festival period, is to be made available for purchase with all proceeds being donated to charitable organizations for disadvantaged youth.
The focus on engaging young people in jazz continues with the Jazz on Campus initiative, which will see lively acts such as Alp Ersönmez, the İmer Demirer Quartet and the Timuçin Şahin Quartet perform across 14 university campuses in Turkey -- including Boğaziçi, Kadir Has, Sabancı, Galatasaray, Konya Selçuk and Bursa Uludağ.
For those as keen on fine dining as they are on musical finesse, two weekend Sunday brunches accompanied by musical entertainment are to be organized on Oct. 16 and 23 at the picturesque locations of the Feriye restaurant and the Moda Teras café, respectively.
With limited places available, tickets for workshops should be booked in advance. For detailed information on the festival program and ticket prices, see http://www.akbanksanat.com/en
