Stars of jazz world to perform at Akbank Jazz Festival

ISTANBUL

China Moses is among the stars of this year's program, which will invite both legendary performers and emerging musicians from Europe.

The Akbank Jazz Festival, one of the longest running festivals in Turkey, will embrace Istanbul with the many colors of jazz for its 24th festival between Oct. 23 and Nov. 2.

The program of the 24th festival was announced late last week at a press conference.

The event will offer a rich program for jazz fans this year, inviting both legendary performers and emerging musicians in Europe. Throughout the festival, 300 musicians will take part in 44 concerts, 13 workshops and two seminars.

The festival will be hosted at 17 different venues including Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall, Akbank Sanat, Babylon, The Seed, Caddebostan Culture Center, Moda Sahnesi, Nardis and Zorlu Center Performance Arts Center.

Jamie Cullum, considered a jazz genius, is among the most important figures of this year’s festival. This year audiences will view performances by two renowned musicians on the same stage: The Kenny Barron & Dave Holland duo are set to provide an unforgettable experience for jazz lovers.

Christian McBride, regarded as one of the best living double bassists of jazz music, will also perform at the festival. Chet Faker, a brilliant jazz musician hotly anticipated in Turkey, will perform in concert as well.  A “Masters of Jazz” section will include McBride, Dave Holland, and Kenny Barron. Double bassist Holland and pianist Barron, who was discovered by legends of jazz history such as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis and has been nominated for many Grammy awards, will offer a concert.

The festival program includes significant musicians from Poland, such as Leszek Mozdzer and Marcin Masecki, in conjunction with the 600th anniversary of Turkey-Poland diplomatic relations.

Patricia Barber, Kathy Kosins, José James, Claudio Filippini, Karsu Dönmez, China Moses, Yasmine Hamdan will be among the other festival performers.

Young people will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with jazz music and its instruments through “Jazz Workshops at High Schools” during the course of the festival.

This year’s festival also includes a special evening in memory of Mehmet Uluğ, the first director of the festival from its opening in 1990 until November 2013. Ticket revenues will be transferred to a fund for the Music House founded in Kaş as a tribute to Uluğ.

Jazz on campus

Meanwhile, “Jazz on Campus,” a festival classic, will bring the joy and enthusiasm of jazz music to university students in Gaziantep, Adana, Kayseri, Ankara, Eskişehir, Edirne, Çanakkale and Izmir between Nov. 3 and 14.

Cukunft, one of the most unique bands of a jazz genre named “klez jazz,” will travel Anatolia during this period. Klez jazz was created by musicians mingling folkloric melodies of Central and Eastern European peoples with their own local musical traditions, adorning it with elements of jazz in the U.S.