The 21st Akbank Jazz Festival, after warming the streets of Istanbul with various different melodies this fall, has come to an end.
This year, the Festival offered a total of 53 concerts in 9 different cities; providing music lovers a variety of programs ranging from jazz virtuosos to new voices of European jazz stage, from Turkish jazz stars to the diverse harmonies of world music.
This year, a participation of over 250 musicians jazzed the Festival up . 21st Akbank Jazz Festival, under the motto "The City in the State of Jazz", hosted various workshops, panels,competitions, and brunches accompanied by jazz music in addition to the concerts.
Seen as one of the most significant events of the Festival, the Jazz On Campus concerts, which reach larger masses every year, gathered the university students in Eskişehir,Ankara, Trabzon, Erzurum, Adana, Kayseri, Konya, and Bursa in addition to Istanbul.
Notes from the Festival:
- The 21st Akbank Jazz Festival started on Thursday, October 13 2011 with the opening concert of Arild Andersen, one of the leading contrabass musicians of Europe.
- Other featured names in the festival were Charles Lloyd, the legend saxophonist; Avishai Cohen, successful bassist and composer who characteristically combined the influences of Middle Eastern and African music with jazz; Maffy Falay, a worldwide known virtuoso of trumpet who grew up in Turkey and his band Maffy Falay Sextet; Dusko Goykovich Quartet; Ray Gelato, the legendary maestro of swing music who performed for the Royal Family in England and took the stage at the wedding of Paul Mc Cartney; Azam Ali & Niyaz, two of the most distinctive musicians with their music carrying tunes of eastern mysticism; Carmen Souza, with her lyrical performance drawing a colorful line between world music and jazz; Robert Glasper Experiment, presenting an amusing 'experience' with the combination of funky jazz and hip hop; and Vijay Iyer, who is regarded as one of the most talented musicians of the new generation.
- As part of the 21st Akbank Jazz Festival, ZAZ, titled 'Favourite French Singer' in 2010, gave two concerts at Lütfi Kırdar International Convention and Exhibition Centre and Izmir Arena. The concerts tickets were were sold within an hour.
- As part of one of the most significant events of 21st Akbank Jazz Festival, Jazz on Campus, 13 concerts were performed in 9 cities including Eskişehir, Ankara, Trabzon, Erzurum, Adana, Kayseri, Konya, Bursa, and Istanbul between October 17 and November 3. The musicians coming together with university students during Jazz on Campus concerts were Alp Ersönmez, one of the most talented jazz performers in Turkey; 123, a band that makes all the difference to the music stage with its line between trip-hop and jazz; and Timuçin Şahin, who brings a different perspective to music with his unique style of playing guitar and his original works of music