Istanbul Jazz Festival celebrates its 20th year

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

A total of 40 concerts will take place in 14 different venues with the participation of over 400 local and international artists.

The Istanbul Jazz Festival, organized by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) and sponsored for the past 16 years by Garanti Bank, is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The Istanbul Jazz Festival will transport the center of jazz to Istanbul with a wide array of concerts from modern jazz to rock and folk to world music presented in impressive venues that reflect the cultural and natural texture of the city between July 2 and 18.

The Istanbul Jazz Festival gears toward bringing jazz stars and audiences together for the 20th time in July with over 40 concerts that will take place in 14 different venues with the participation of over 400 local and international artists.

The program of 2013

The program for the 20th Istanbul Jazz Festival was unveiled at a press meeting held at Salon İKSV. Following the opening speech of İKSV General Director Görgün Taner, Garanti Bank Executive Vice President Nafiz Karadere said: “Sustained with faith, passion and patience, the Istanbul Jazz Festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary. As Garanti Bank we have been very happy to collaborate with İKSV for the past 16 years. We will wholeheartedly continue to support the festival, which plays a major role in advancing and spreading jazz culture throughout Turkey, with our brand ‘Garanti Jazz Green.’”

Istanbul Jazz Festival Director Pelin Opcin gave information about the concerts and the special 20th-year projects in the festival lineup. Following the reception, the guests attended a concert by Branford Marsalis and the Joey Calderazzo Duo as part of the festival’s 20th year.

İKSV is featuring a new collaboration for the posters of this year’s festival. The artwork, graphics and handwriting of leading artists from different fields have been brought together on the posters of the 2013 Istanbul Festivals by graphic designer and İKSV Corporate Identity Adviser Bülent Erkmen.

Poster of the festival

The visuals of the 20th Istanbul Jazz Festival poster were composed by Orhan Pamuk. The author’s handwriting and the seagull motif featured in his drawings and patterns are used on the festival poster designed by Erkmen. A special video message by Erkmen regarding the design of the festival poster was shown at the press meeting. “Orhan Pamuk was interested in drawing before writing, and he never lost his connection to it as a writer. In his notebooks where he writes down his novels there are patterns that seep through the pages, and there are writings that seep into his drawings,” Erkmen said.

“Pamuk regularly features seagulls and crows in his drawings and patterns. I chose the seagull as a symbol of Istanbul and my personal connection to jazz. The seagull detail in the image I chose comes from a bigger drawing. In that way, as the seagull flies fast on the white blank of the page, he carries Istanbul with him as he flaps his wings and shrieks while Orhan Pamuk’s fluttering handwriting accompanies him.”

20th anniversary publications

The Istanbul Jazz Festival is also presenting a special publication for audiences for its 20th anniversary. The magazine will feature information on this year’s program as well as articles and op-eds by artists from Turkey. The magazine will be available in June. The festival CD, which will be produced in collaboration between the Istanbul Jazz Festival and EMI Turkey, will feature selected works by the artists in this year’s lineup. The CD, which will be compiled with input from the artists, will hit stores in June. The Istanbul Jazz Festival CD, which has a special place in festival-goers collections, is ideal to get acquainted with the participating artists before the festival begins and as a memento of the festival.

Another important publication of the festival in its 20th year will be a special photography album and DVD including concert photos and recordings dating from the very beginning of the festival. The special set will be released in limited edition at the end of the year.

In addition to the usual hosts of the festival such as Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall, Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Stage, Haliç Congress Center, Istanbul Modern, Istanbul Archaeological Museum, Sabancı University Sakıp Sabancı Museum and Salon İKSV, the new venues that will be featured in this year’s festival are the Embassy of Germany Tarabya Summer Residence, Consulate General of Austria – Austrian Cultural Office Garden, Feriye Restaurant, Istanbul Technical University Maçka Campus.