23.09.2020
Akbank Jazz Festival’s JAmZZ Young Talents Competition is returning to unite young musicians with Turkey’s leading jazz artists once again.
Text: Cem Kayıran
Translated: Yetkin Nural
Akbank Jazz Festival continues to provide a platform for talented young artists, uniting urban and jazz culture for the last 30 years. JAmZZ project, which includes awards in wind, percussion, string, key instruments as well as vocals, started back in 2011 with the goal of discovering young and amateur talents from all around Turkey and bringing them together with professional names. Some of the names who took part in the competition in previous years and won awards, have become today’s rising young stars. Applications for 2020 JAmZZ Young Talents Competition are open until September 30 and this year’s jury includes Ferit Odman, İlhan Erşahin, Alp Ersönmez, Cem Tuncer, Sibel Köse, Çağrı Sertel, Ediz Hafızoğlu, Elif Çağlar, Engin Recepoğulları, Ercüment Orkut and Kağan Yıldız.
Since the competition is coming back after a five-year break, let’s have a look at some of the past winners and how their careers evolved.
Anıl Bilgen
Born in 1989, Ankara; pianist Anıl Bilgen won the first prize in “Best Performance” category back in 2011 when the competition was held for the first time. Same year, Bilgen was accepted to Kunst Universität Graz’s jazz piano department and studied under Olaf Polziehn. In 2016, he released How Far Is The Moon with Morten Ramsbøl and Pippo Corvino. Bilgen lives in Austria and continues giving concerts around Europe with various bands that he leads.
Deniz Taşar
Deniz Taşar won the competition’s “Best Cover” award back in 2013 and became a rising name of the local jazz scene, especially with her refreshing compositions that explore sub-genres of jazz. Taşar released her debut EP, Uykuda Bir Bulut, three years after the competition and nowadays she is getting ready to release her debut album.
Eren Akgün
After winning “Best Improvisation” award from JAmZZ, trombonist Eren Akgün went on to work with shining names of the international jazz scene such as Tony Moreno and Marco Tamburini. His trio with Can Tutuğ and Yarkın Coşar evolved into a septet, and the orchestra’s live performances have drawn positive attention with their eclectic approach.
Sanat Deliorman
Sanat Deliorman, who has received an honourable mention in JAmZZ 2012, has been continuing her work on various layers of the music scene for a long time. Deliorman’s performances with her band, Sanat Deliorman and Her Jazz Bros, as well as her trio have been receiving a lot of praise. Deliorman has also been revealing the wide range of her musical perception both as a programmer at Açık Radio and an editor of Andante Magazine.
Gürtuğ Gök
Göktuğ Gök took the first prize in “Best Improvisation” category at 2012’s JAmZZ. After graduating from Istanbul Technical University Turkish Music State Conservatory with a degree in reed pipe and composition, he has chosen saxophone as his instrument due to his interest in jazz. Alongside stage performances, Gök has been active as a composer and took part in album recordings of prestigious names from Turkish music scene such as Fazıl Say and Sezen Aksu.