Akbank Jazz Festival, one of the longest running festivals in Turkey, is celebrating its 26th anniversary this year. Featuring a program filled with some of the most respected jazz artists, the festival will embrace the city with all the different colors of jazz between October 12 and 23, 2016.
With millions of audiences to date and counting, the Festival will once again feature a rich program of exceptional performances in its 26th edition. The stars gracing the 26th Akbank Jazz Festival include: Ron Carter, 2 time Grammy winner, and one of the most productive jazz musicians of all-time with his contributions to nearly 2500 albums; Imany, who comes as a great asset to today’s soul music; Tony Allen, Nigerian-born drummer, composer, and songwriter, who created the “Afrobeat” movement, a blend of traditional African music, jazz and funk; Pharoah Sanders, the 75-year old artist described as probably the world’s best tenor saxophonist; Paolo Fresu, the talented trumpet player with numerous international awards to his; and Omar Sosa, a Cuban songwriter and pianist very popular in today’s Latin Jazz scene, and three-time Grammy nominee. The Festival will also present a number Turkish jazz musicians such as Fatih Erkoç, İlham Gencer, Önder Focan, Okay Temiz and Ferit Odman.
Akbank General Manager Hakan Binbaşgil, said that they were delighted to be offering the many different sounds of jazz for music enthusiasts for 26 years, and added, “Akbank Jazz Festival is one of the most important projects that Akbank has been carrying out in the culture and arts arena, and it has brought together master musicians and rising stars of jazz with music enthusiasts for quarter of a century with rich programs in every edition. We are very pleased that our Festival has become a leading event in the world jazz calendar today.” Binbaşgil noted that the Festival continues with its mission of hosting some of the most respected artists while spreading jazz to wider audiences for quarter of a century, and continued, “The Festival contributes to the vibe and dynamism of Istanbul every year, and with this edition we will keep growing beyond Istanbul and expanding in Anatolia. Seeing how wholeheartedly music enthusiasts embrace our festival makes us even happier.”
Akbank Sanat Director Derya Bigalı said, “This year, as we have done every year so far, we prepared a rich program featuring master musicians as well as the rising stars of the European jazz scene to reflect many different sounds of jazz. I hope the 26th Akbank Jazz Festival will offer new discoveries for all jazz enthusiasts.”
Jazz Workshops in High Schools will certainly be one of the most important events of the festival again this year. The workshops, offered since 2012, that give high school students an opportunity to get to know jazz music and instruments better, will take place in eight high schools this year.
Akbank continues with the Şehrin İyi Hali (Best State of the City) project, which brings together the youth, as part of the corporate social responsibility projects carried out with the participation of volunteering employees for many years. Last year, the project saw great interest from young people and registrations were filled within the first three days; and this year 500 young people who have volunteered for community projects will get to attend the Imany concert on Friday, October 21 at Volkswagen Arena.
With event organization and content planning carried out in partnership with Pozitif, the 26th Akbank Jazz Festival events will be held in a total 26 venues including Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall, Akbank Sanat, Babylon, The Seed, Caddebostan Cultural Center, Moda Stage, Summart Arts Center, Nardis, and Zorlu Performance Arts Center, and 42 concerts, six lectures, 13 workshops and two performances.
Concert tickets for the 26th Akbank Jazz Festival will be available for purchase from September 6, 2016 at Biletix. For further information on the Festival, please visit www.akbanksanat.com and www.akbankcaz.com, download the Akbank Sanat iPhone app, and follow Akbank Sanat on Facebook and twitter (facebook.com/AkbankSanat and twitter.com/AkbankSanat).
With millions of audiences to date and counting, the Festival will once again feature a rich program of exceptional performances in its 26th edition. The stars gracing the 26th Akbank Jazz Festival include: Ron Carter, 2 time Grammy winner, and one of the most productive jazz musicians of all-time with his contributions to nearly 2500 albums; Imany, who comes as a great asset to today’s soul music; Tony Allen, Nigerian-born drummer, composer, and songwriter, who created the “Afrobeat” movement, a blend of traditional African music, jazz and funk; Pharoah Sanders, the 75-year old artist described as probably the world’s best tenor saxophonist; Paolo Fresu, the talented trumpet player with numerous international awards to his; and Omar Sosa, a Cuban songwriter and pianist very popular in today’s Latin Jazz scene, and three-time Grammy nominee. The Festival will also present a number Turkish jazz musicians such as Fatih Erkoç, İlham Gencer, Önder Focan, Okay Temiz and Ferit Odman.
Akbank General Manager Hakan Binbaşgil, said that they were delighted to be offering the many different sounds of jazz for music enthusiasts for 26 years, and added, “Akbank Jazz Festival is one of the most important projects that Akbank has been carrying out in the culture and arts arena, and it has brought together master musicians and rising stars of jazz with music enthusiasts for quarter of a century with rich programs in every edition. We are very pleased that our Festival has become a leading event in the world jazz calendar today.” Binbaşgil noted that the Festival continues with its mission of hosting some of the most respected artists while spreading jazz to wider audiences for quarter of a century, and continued, “The Festival contributes to the vibe and dynamism of Istanbul every year, and with this edition we will keep growing beyond Istanbul and expanding in Anatolia. Seeing how wholeheartedly music enthusiasts embrace our festival makes us even happier.”
Akbank Sanat Director Derya Bigalı said, “This year, as we have done every year so far, we prepared a rich program featuring master musicians as well as the rising stars of the European jazz scene to reflect many different sounds of jazz. I hope the 26th Akbank Jazz Festival will offer new discoveries for all jazz enthusiasts.”
Jazz Workshops in High Schools will certainly be one of the most important events of the festival again this year. The workshops, offered since 2012, that give high school students an opportunity to get to know jazz music and instruments better, will take place in eight high schools this year.
Akbank continues with the Şehrin İyi Hali (Best State of the City) project, which brings together the youth, as part of the corporate social responsibility projects carried out with the participation of volunteering employees for many years. Last year, the project saw great interest from young people and registrations were filled within the first three days; and this year 500 young people who have volunteered for community projects will get to attend the Imany concert on Friday, October 21 at Volkswagen Arena.
With event organization and content planning carried out in partnership with Pozitif, the 26th Akbank Jazz Festival events will be held in a total 26 venues including Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall, Akbank Sanat, Babylon, The Seed, Caddebostan Cultural Center, Moda Stage, Summart Arts Center, Nardis, and Zorlu Performance Arts Center, and 42 concerts, six lectures, 13 workshops and two performances.
Concert tickets for the 26th Akbank Jazz Festival will be available for purchase from September 6, 2016 at Biletix. For further information on the Festival, please visit www.akbanksanat.com and www.akbankcaz.com, download the Akbank Sanat iPhone app, and follow Akbank Sanat on Facebook and twitter (facebook.com/AkbankSanat and twitter.com/AkbankSanat).
