Albanian-Swiss vocalist Elina Duni will take the stage at the festival.
The first DatJazz Festival will be held in the Aegean resort town of Datça from Aug. 19 to 23, bringing together jazz musicians from Türkiye, the Balkans, the Middle East and Europe in the region’s historic and natural Mediterranean setting.
The festival will feature a diverse lineup ranging from contemporary jazz and electronic sounds to groove-oriented performances and world music.
DatJazz Program Director Ülker Uncu said the festival was initiated by jazz enthusiast Ertan Tezcan, with Sıraç Aksoy and Ece Dönmez later joining the team to develop the project.
“We spent the winter preparing to create a sustainable and distinctive jazz festival for Datça,” Uncu said. She said Datça was chosen because of its unique place within the Mediterranean.
“Datça is one of the Mediterranean’s most distinctive destinations. Its natural beauty, history and cultural heritage make it a perfect meeting point for the broader Mediterranean music culture that inspires the festival,” she said.
Uncu noted that Datça’s layered history — from the Carians and Dorians to the Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks, Ottomans and the Turkish Republic — has given the region a multicultural identity that naturally embraces diverse artistic influences.
She added that the festival was designed to reflect the Mediterranean’s multicultural musical heritage while also highlighting female artists, local cultural figures and young jazz musicians from the region.
In addition to evening concerts, the festival will offer a range of daytime events. On Aug. 22 and 23, audiences can enjoy morning performances by Buse Benol and the İmge Mıngıroğlu Duo at Kairos Valley, as well as talks by Datça-based music writers Özge Ç. Denizci and Tayfun Polat on the history of jazz in Türkiye and the evolving role of jazz festivals.
Uncu said the organizers view the festival as a long-term cultural investment for Datça.
“We hope it will eventually contribute to the tourism season and create indirect benefits for local businesses and the accommodation sector. However, we see that as a long-term goal rather than a promise for the first year,” she said.
The festival’s first edition will feature both international and Turkish artists, including Albanian-Swiss vocalist Elina Duni, French-Greek singer Melina Vlachos, Balkan world music ensemble NAKED and Turkish performers ÜÇ, Jülide Özçelik and Ada Sanlıman.
DJ Barthez will perform throughout the festival, while the “Jazz at Breakfast” series will feature İmge Mıngıroğlu on Aug. 22 and Buse Benol on Aug. 23.
