Jazz Festival > Press

The 31st Izmir European Jazz Festival, organized by the Izmir Foundation for Culture, Arts and Education (IKSEV), is scheduled to take place between March 7th and 20th, 2024.

The Festival, organized in cooperation with Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Consulate of Italy in Izmir, Institut français Turkey - Izmir, the Honorary Consulate of Switzerland in Izmir, Goethe Institute Izmir, Consulate General of Slovakia in Istanbul and the Honorary Consulate of Slovakia in Izmir, will start with the opening concert on Thursday, March 7, 2024 at 20.30 in the Grand Hall of Ahmed Adnan Saygun Art Center.

 

The 21st Jazz Poster Competition blazes a trail this year with the participation of eleven students under the age of 14 from Narlidere Arkas Science and Arts Center in the competition under the leadership of their teacher Engin Çetinkaya. The 10 posters, three of which are awarded with the Jury's encouragement prize, will be on exhibition at the Ahmed Adnan Saygun Art Center Lower Gallery throughout the Festival, along with the posters deemed worthy of exhibition.

 

Ella Fitzgerald Night – Ayşegül Yeşilnil

Ella Fitzgerald, one of the most important American jazz vocalists of the twentieth century, will be commemorated with her works at the opening concert of the 31st Izmir European Jazz Festival to be held on Thursday, March 7, 2024 at 20:30 in the Grand Hall of Ahmed Adnan Saygun Art Center. Ayşegül Yeşilnil, one of the most important jazz vocalists of today, will interpret the immortal songs of Fitzgerald, known for the perfection of her intonation and interpretation, and for her voice that exceeds the three octave range which she can use like a trumpet in improvisations. The concert, arranged by Nezih Yeşilnil, will be performed with the narration of Ümit Tunçağ. Ayşegül Yeşilnil will be accompanied by Zafer Çebi on piano, Nezih Yeşilnil on bass, Erdoğan Turanlı on saxophone and Ferruh Arıç on drums.

Just before the concert, Filiz Eczacıbaşı Sarper, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of İKSEV, will present plaques of appreciation to the collaborating institutions and individuals.

 

The Great Name of Jazz Piano: Vittorio Mezza

Vittorio Mezza, who has a well-deserved reputation as a composer, arranger, performer and instructor, will present an unforgettable performance on Monday, March 11, 2024 at 20:30 in the Smart Hall of Ahmed Adnan Saygun Art Center. Mezza will perform his own compositions and arrangements at the concert, which will be held in cooperation with the Italian Consulate in Izmir.

Performing all over the world and arranging both original music and any composition without borders, Mezza, with its deep jazz roots in tradition, seeks beauty and uniqueness from a personal contemporary music perspective in many fields from film soundtracks to rock music, theater, classical and pop music.

Mezza, who is currently active in the academic field as the Head of Jazz Piano Department at Frosinone State Conservatory of Music, will hold a Jazz Piano Workshop at IKSEV on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. Participation to the workshop will be free of charge.

 

It's the Turn of Drums in Musical Conversations

The 31st Izmir European Jazz Festival's traditional Musical Conversation will this time focus on celebrated jazz drummers. In the conversation that will start at 18:30 at IKSEV Hall, Ümit Tunçağ, who “knows everything about Jazz”, will talk about the drummers who made their names in the history of Jazz.  The conversation will be enriched with many examples, and participation will be free as always.

 

The Anatomy of a Jazz Poster

Perhaps the most interesting workshop of the 31st Izmir European Jazz Festival will be held on Tuesday, March 13, 2014 at 18:30 at IKSEV Hall. Prof. Dr. Hakan Ertep, Kutsal Lenger and Okan Özgen, the three jury members of the Jazz Poster Competition organized by IKSEV for 21 years, will talk about the pros and cons of the posters that have participated in the competition over the years and explain what is expected from a Jazz poster. It will also be possible to attend the workshop via Zoom.

 

A Jazz Dream - Lynn Adib & Marc Bronfosse

The 31st Izmir European Jazz Festival will host Syrian-born Jazz legend Lynn Adib and 6-string bass virtuoso Marc Bronfosse in the Small Hall of Ahmed Adnan Saygun Art Center on Wednesday, March 14, 2024. In the concert to be held in collaboration with Institut français Turkey - Izmir, Adib and Bronfosse will be accompanied by Elias Arapoglou on drums and percussion and Stéphane Guillaume on saxophone and flute. Combining traditional Arabic music (Maqam), the religious songs of ancient Syria and Jazz music, Adib, with her musical education in America and Paris, her voice and her musical journey, has managed to add freedom to the timbres of Jazz and create her own unique style beyond all cultural and stylistic boundaries.

 

A Life Dedicated to Piano

Moncef Genoud, by far the best jazz pianist of Switzerland, will play in the Small Hall of Ahmed Adnan Saygun Art Center on Thursday, March 15, 2024. Moncef will be accompanied by Timothy Verdesca (bass), Yannick Barman (trumpet) and Cyril Regamey (drums) at the concert to be held in cooperation with the Honorary Consulate of Switzerland in Izmir. Active in his professional jazz career since 1983, Moncef displays both the maturity of his age and a youthful thirst for new musical explorations that mirror his own unique and exciting life journey. He humbly invites his listeners along for the ride.

 

Jazz and Collage Workshop

The 31st Izmir European Jazz Festival's highly anticipated “Jazz and Collage Workshop” will be held on Monday, March 18, 2024 at IKSEV under the direction of Engin Çetinkaya. The workshop, which will be held in the morning and afternoon, aims to establish links between painting (visual arts) and Jazz music with the collage technique that painters such as Pablo Picasso and George Braque started to use in the early 20th century. Participants will try to design creative works using the so-called collage technique, in which ready-made (waste) materials such as paper and fabric are cut and glued to the painting surface.

 

A Look at Jazz History: Embryo Live

Jazz listeners from Izmir will have the opportunity to meet Embryo Live, which was founded in 1969 by Christian Burchard, Edgar Hofmann and Lothar Meid and has changed, developed and become a school in jazz music over the past 55 years, on Monday, March 18, 2024 in the Small Hall of Ahmed Adnan Saygun Art Center. Embryo, led by Marja Burchard, the daughter of founder Christian Burchard, who took over the band after her father's death, will present a program reminiscent of the band's long history. Embryo, consisting of Jan Weissenfeldt (guitar), Maasl Maier (bass, saxophone and flute), Jakob Thun (drums) and Marja Burchard (vibraphone, rhodes, organ, santur, vocals and trombone) will also hold a workshop at IKSEV on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.

 

Closing Concert with Solo Piano

The 31st Izmir European Jazz Festival will end on Wednesday, March 20, 2024 with the workshop and concert of Ondrej Krajnak, one of the important names of Slovak and European Jazz music. The concert will be held in cooperation with the Consulate General of Slovakia in Istanbul and the Honorary Consulate of Slovakia in Izmir in the Small Hall of Ahmed Adnan Saygun Art Center at 20:30 and the workshop will be held at IKSEV at 13:00 on the same day.

 

For the First Time in Jazz Poster Competition: Jazz through the Eyes of a Child

Berke Özaşık, a student of the Department of Graphic Design, Faculty of Fine Arts, Marmara University, is awarded with the first prize in the 21st Jazz Poster Competition organized by IKSEV. The Poster Competition blazes a trail this year with the participation of eleven students under the age of 14 in the competition. Consisting of Prof. Dr. Hakan Ertep, Cihangir Elmaskaya, Maksude Kılıç, Kutsal Lenger, Hüseyin Ekinciler, Okan Özgen and Ayşe Tatari, the Jury decided to exhibit the works of 11 students, aged between 8 and 13, who attend Narlidere Arkas Science and Arts Center. Among them, the jury found the works of Tutku Alparslan (10), Ayaz Afşar (13) and Can Bahıt (8) worthy of the “Jury's Encouragement Award”. The 10 posters created by children will be on display throughout the festival along with the posters that are deemed worthy of exhibition in the competition.

 

TICKETS ON SALE AT BILETIX

Tickets for the 31st Izmir European Jazz Festival will be available on sale at Biletix and the main box office at Ahmed Adnan Saygun Art Center as of Thursday, February 22.