Şermet: I canceled Kıvaner’s show for disrespectfulness

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Jazz musicians’ association puts a logo on their Facebook page against the venue.

The owner of the Istanbul Jazz Center, Aytek Şermet, was recently accused of behaving violently toward jazz musician Uraz Kıvaner, which has negatively impacted Şermet’s standing among the jazz community. Şermet issued a press statement yesterday in response to the claims.

Kıvaner claims that Şermet paid him only half the money he was owed for a concert he performed about a month ago at the Istanbul Jazz Center. At a rehearsal for his next concert, Kıvaner reminded Şermet of his debt, and Şermet allegedly attacked Kıvaner. Kıvaner also claims that Şermet has failed to pay many foreign jazz musicians who have performed at the venue.

‘I paid half the money’

In his statement Şermet said he had canceled Kıvaner’s performance due to the latter’s disrespectful manner, and said “I paid 50 percent of the money for this performance two weeks prior to the performance date.”

The musicians who are now claiming they were not paid had been playing for the Istanbul Jazz Center for seven years, Şermet said. “Have they been playing for free for seven years?” he said.

Şermet said every year 20 to 30 Turkish and foreign jazz groups perform at the Istanbul Jazz Center, which was founded in 2005, and that he has provided hotel accommodation for 150 foreign musicians during their stays in the country. He also responded to claims from U.S. jazz bassist Buster Williams, who earlier said that he played at the Istanbul Jazz Center but had not been paid. “If you go to Istanbul to work with Şermet, think twice,” Williams wrote on his website some time ago
Şermet’s statement said that Williams’ manager had told him that Cindy Blackman Santana, a world-famous drummer, performing with Santana and also with Lenny Kravitz, would play a show at the venue together with Williams.

“I explained clearly in the contract that it [the contract] would be invalid if Santana did not come. But he [Williams] put us in a very difficult situation because Santana did not come. He did not give us a chance to say that the contract was invalid because of this situation, and began making claims about the issue in social media the next day,” said Şermet.