Istanbul Jazz Festival announces line-up
ISTANBUL
The 31st Istanbul Jazz Festival will host more than 200 local and international artists with some 40 concerts in 16 days from July 3 to 18.
Esma Sultan Mansion, Sultan Park - Swissôtel The Bosphorus, Rahmi M. Koç Museum, Palais de France, and Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theater will be the festival venues this year.
Among this year’s stars, Gregory Porter will take the stage on July 8 as part of the festival. Porter’s distinct style that mixes country, gospel and blues along with jazz, R&B and funk is often cited to have revived jazz. Called a “worryingly rare breed” by BBC, Porter will once again play to sell-out crowd at Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theater.
Chris Isaak’s heartbroken and serene music, and the film noir-like atmosphere he evokes earned him a pedestal all his own in the history of rock and roll. This year, Isaak is set to give his first concert in Türkiye as a part of the 31st Istanbul Jazz Festival, also at Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theater on July 12.
On July 16, Joshua Redman, one of the greatest saxophonists alive today with his timeless and innovative music, will take the stage along with his recent collaborators, vocalist Gabrielle Cavassa, pianist Paul Cornish, bassist Philip Norris, and drummer Nazir Ebo at The Marmara Esma Sultan Mansion.
The festival audience will meet on the terrace of Swissôtel The Bosphorus to listen to the energetic, improvisational, and free-spirited music of the British-Jamaican jazz icon YolanDa Brown on July 10.
Musical genius Baptiste Trotignon and Türkiye’s first female jazz pianist Nilüfer Verdi, one of Europe’s established orchestras, Modern Art Orchestra and Arlo Parks, a passionate poet and excellent storyteller, will be other guests of the event.
In the traditional Night Out with +1 event of the Istanbul Jazz Festival, the audience will once again stroll in the warmth of a Kadıköy evening, stretching into the cool of the night step by step in pursuit of good music.
The concerts will take place on the night of July 18 at Dorock XL, Moda Sahnesi, Kadıköy Cinema, Kadıköy Stage, and The Wall, featuring Baby’s Berserk, Thomas Azier, Gevende, Korhan Futacı, Coşku Turhan Trio, Eve Dönüş Yok, Yangın, Min Taka and Brek.
This year, the Jazz Boat will anchor from Kabataş Pier on July 14. The Istanbul swing ensemble Brassist will welcome the audience at Kabataş Pier. Throughout the tour, attendees will listen to early examples of jazz in the dramatic styles of Ragtime and Dixieland with Karambola, accompany the irresistible rhythms of the Russian jazz group The Big Rhythm and dance with DJ performances.
One of the most enjoyable events of the Istanbul Jazz Festival, Jazz in the Parks, once again invites all music lovers to the parks. Successful bands from Türkiye and the world will take the stage in concerts spread across different corners of the city, transforming the parks into festival grounds for a day. Hungarian band Duckshell and the festival’s Young Jazz Musicians of 2024 will meet the audience on July 6 at Beylikdüzü Valley of Life.
On the Golden Horn facing side of Istiklal Avenue, jazz melodies will rise simultaneously from three Pera venues, blending into the enchanting atmosphere of Istanbul. Minoa Pera, Pera 77 and Salon İKSV will be hosting three different artists on the same night. Kristjan Randalu Absence Trio, Can Çankaya Trio and Dilek Sert Erdoğan are among the guests of A Jazz Night in Pera on July 17.
Tickets for the festival are on sale.