Countdown on for Jazz in February

ISTANBUL

The fourth Cemal Reşit Rey (CRR) Jazz in February will be held this year between Feb. 13 and 21, featuring seven concerts by masters of jazz from various countries at Istanbul’s CRR Concert Hall. 

The event will open with a concert by two important names in Northern European jazz, Terje Rypdal and Ketil Bjornstad. 

Guitarist and composer Rypdal, who blends jazz and rock, as well as an acclaimed name in the modern jazz world, pianist and composer Bjornstad, will share the same stage during the opening night.

Before the two Norwegian musicians, British band Fred Frith will take the stage alongside bass guitarist Jason Hoopes and percussionist Jordan Glenn. 

The conductor of the CRR Jazz Orchestra, Nail Yavuzoğlu, will be on stage on Feb. 14 and 19 between 6:45 and 7:30 p.m. at the CRR foyer to present his own works with his bass guitar. 

Feb. 14 Valentine’s Day will also feature Italian artist Roberta Gambarini, one of the best-known names of international jazz festivals and notable concert halls, on the CRR stage. 

Gambarini has been appreciated for his duet album “Your Are There,” recorded with the legendary pianist and composer of jazz music, Hank Jones. 

The CRR jazz Orchestra will be on the stage on Feb. 17 under the baton of Yavuzoğlu. 

The soloist of the program will be Meltem Ege, who is a graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music and representing Turkey in the field of jazz music. 

A world-renowned trumpet player, 77-year-old Enrico Rava, who has carried Italian jazz to the international stage, and Trio Elf, which received the Bremen Jazz Award in 2016, will meet on the CRR stage on Feb. 18. 

The Enrico Rava New Quartet includes Rava, Francesco Diodati, Gabriele Evangelista and Enrico Morello. 

The German jazz band also features internationally acclaimed musicians Gerwin Eisenhauer, Walter Lang and Gerwin Eisenhauer. 

Saxophonist David Sanborn, who has released 24 albums in his 35-year music career and has been one of the leading names of contemporary music since the 1970s with six Grammys, will take the stage on Feb. 19. 

The Hijazz Project, which was formed to blend traditional forms of Turkish music with Western rhythms while bringing together Turkey’s best musicians, will perform on Feb. 20. 

Pianist Artun Sürmeli, bassist Eylem Pelit, drummer Volkan Öktem, guitarist Ercument Ateş, trumpeter Şenova Ülker, as well as Birol Yayla, Şenol Filiz, Levent Altındağ, Aycan Teztel and Mehmet Kemiksiz, are members of the Hijazz Project. 

Jazz in February will end with a concert by veteran Turkish pop singer Zerrin Özer.

All concerts at the event will start at 8 p.m. at CRR Concert Hall.