Zorlu PSM Jazz Festival to host veterans, young talents
ISTANBUL
Zorlu PSM Jazz Festival will be held from April 25 to June 1 this year. The festival program has been, featuring blues, electronic, world, funk, indie, classic, pop and rock under the roof of jazz.
Among the guests of the third edition of the five-week festival will be guitarist John McLaughlin & the 4th Dimension in the opening day. Heavily inspired by Indian music, McLaughlin blends Jazz with Flamenco. He is the creator of wild solos with fuzzy tones, and bold, unpredictable, intricate melodies.
The winner of last year’s Grammy Award for Best Improvisation Jazz Solo, McLaughlin has collaborated with Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucia, Carlos Santana, and the Indian tabla master Zakir Hussein.
A legendary name of music, Enrico Macias will take the stage on April 27. Macias, who has written hundreds of songs during his musical career of more than 50 years, has his name written in gold in Turkey’s pop history with around 80 of his musical works translated to Turkish.
The musician has recently celebrated his 80th birthday with a special tour, and embraced both personal and universal values in songs he sang in many different languages.
Another guest, the Ukrainian musician Estas Tonne, the world-famous guitar virtuoso, describes his practice as something like a guitar yoga.
Identifying himself as a modern minstrel, Estas Tonne will meet his fans in at Zorlu PSM on May 3 and 4.
Bobby McFerrin, whose mega-hit “Don’t Worry Be Happy” became the first acapella song to reach number one on the Billboard lists in 1988, will be on the stage on May 6. He brings together the members of Voicestra, his former vocal orchestra, under a new group called Gimme5 for his thrilling, liberating, and unique show, Circlesongs, at Zorlu PSM.
Nominated by the BBC for the “Rising Stars Jazz” awards, Julia Biel will be in Turkey for the first time on May 10. Considered as the brightest jazz vocalist of her time, Biel strolls effortlessly between classical jazz, soul, psychedelic and electro-acoustic tunes, creating a dialog with the audience.
Telling entrancing stories via her touching, subtle and deep style, Julia Biel is a unique blend of many inspiring names like Björk, Norah Jones, and Tom York.
As the timeless guitar master celebrates his 66th birthday with his latest album and a tour, John Scofield will honor Turkish audience on May 18 on the occasion of Combo 66 album tour, together with his long-time drummer Bill Stewart as well as newcomers Gerald Clayton (piano) and Vicente Archer (bass) who also played in Combo 66.
The virtuoso has so far won three Grammy Awards in Best Jazz Instrumental Album and Best Improvised Jazz Solo categories. The album Combo 66, released last year to mark the 66th birthday of the living legend, presents sounds from a large spectrum, including post-pop, rock, swinging blues, soul-jazz, and funk with an ingenious scheme.
Touché, which opened doors last year at the PSM Jazz Festival, will offer new experiences to jazz lovers in a club atmosphere during the festival time.
Terry Riley & Gyan Riley, İlhan Erşahin Electric Quartet, Noiserv, Stanpolites Project Meets Okay Temiz, Ferit Odman Quintet, Önder Focan Trio feat. Şenova Ülker, Kürşad Deniz Trio feat. Sibel Köse, Ercüment Orkut Trio – Persona, Ozan Musluoğlu Quartet, Barış Demirel and Geeva Flava are among the names to appear on Touché stage.
Along with the concerts, the event will also present concept parties, panel discussions, workshops and film and documentary screenings.
Tickets for the festival will be on sale on Feb. 21 at Zorlu PSM and Biletix.
For full program, visit www.zorlupsm.com