Mehmet Uluğ Tribute Night: Adam Rudolph’s “Invisible Threads”
On the twelfth anniversary of his passing, we will gather once again to commemorate Mehmet Uluğ and honor his legacy and profound influence on Istanbul’s music scene.
This year, the Mehmet Uluğ Tribute Night, annually hosted by the Akbank Jazz Festival, will feature composer and percussionist Adam Rudolph. Hailed as a “pioneer in world music” by The New York Times, Rudolph brings together musicians from various geographies and cultural backgrounds through the universal language of music in this project he leads. Invisible Threads is an invitation to not only a musical gathering, but also a spiritual, historical, and inner journey. Rudolph's musical journey began in the 1980s in New York with the Mandingo Griot Society. He then established long-standing creative collaborations with three major figures representing the spiritual dimension of jazz: Don Cherry, Yusef Lateef, and Pharoah Sanders.
Rudolph’s friendships with his partners in this project, Okay Temiz and Hacı Tekbilek, also go back a long way. Okay Temiz is a pioneer who has devoted his life to promoting multicultural music to the world. Throughout his life, he has constantly been seeking expressions where different rhythms and musical traditions intertwine. Hacı Tekbilek is a master of the ney and many other wind instruments. He is the brother and long-time collaborator of Ömer Faruk Tekbilek, and has lived in Sweden for many years. Accompanying this core group are Sumru Ağıryürüyen, Özlem Kaya and Sıla Gerbağ from Turkey, along with Jesper Egelund from Denmark and Marco Cappelli from Italia. Each artist brings their own voice and experience into this shared creative space.
Invisible Threads, taking over the stage at ARTER October 9, is a call from that universe, which echoes that music is a bridge across cultures, individual voices can find meaning within unity, and collective creation has the power to heal.
Adam Rudolph: Percussion
Okay Temiz: Percussion
Hacı Tekbilek: Ney
Sumru Ağıryürüyen: Vocals
Özlem Kaya: Violin
Sıla Gerbağa: Flute
Jesper Egelund: Bass, electronics
Marco Cappelli: Acoustic guitar, electronics