Scandinavian pianist discovers Turkish music

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Karlzon is already a jazz veteran. His first album came out in 1992, and since then he has recorded five more in his own name.

Renowned piano player Jacob Karlzon recently visited Turkey to give a concert at Istanbul’s Akbank Sanat and also attended a musical workshop during the trip.

He describes his music as being inspired by a number of disparate genres, “all the way from classical piano music through ethnic, electronic and metal,” residing in the intersections where Scandinavian expressions such as space, melancholy and sensitivity blend with heat and passion.

Karlzon started as a freelance musician when he was 22-years-old in a variety of different bands and contexts. Over the years, he says he has had the privilege of playing with many fantastic and experienced musicians on the Scandinavian music scene.

Turkey’s musical scene
Commenting on the Turkish music scene while in Istanbul, he said: “The music scene in Turkey feels like a melting pot of a lot of different impressions which is exactly what my music is about. I am really looking forward to exploring it.”

The Turkish influence has even started seeping into his own music. “Actually, nowadays my band is almost two thirds Turkish. The great bass-player Hans Andersson in JK3 is married to a Turkish woman and very recently the amazing drummer IKIZ from Istanbul joined the band,” he said, adding that he was enjoying every second of it.

Karlzon is already a jazz veteran. His first album came out in 1992, and since then he has recorded five more in his own name and featured on at least 40 others. He has been showered with distinctions and prizes over the years. In 1997 he won the “Jazz in Sweden” award with the Malmö combo Blue Pages and was voted “Newcomer of the Year” by Swedish Radio’s annual jazz critic poll. In 2010 he was voted “Musician of the Year” by Swedish Radio’s annual jazz critic poll and was awarded the Django d’Or as a “Contemporary Star of Jazz.”

Hatice Utkan contributed to this article.