The 33rd Istanbul Jazz Festival, organized by the İstanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV), will take place from June 30 to July 13.
The festival will bring together nearly 30 concerts and close to 200 artists over 14 days. Performers will include Marcus Miller, Robert Plant, Thee Sacred Souls, Arooj Aftab, Mari Froes, Ayhan Sicimoğlu, Selen Beytekin, Joe Lovano, Antonio Farao and Veronica Swift.
The festival program was announced at a press conference on Feb 23 at a hotel in Beyoğlu.
Speaking at the meeting, İKSV Deputy General Manager Yeşim Gürer Oymak noted that through the Young Artist Fund, launched two years ago, the foundation supports young jazz musicians in opening up to international stages throughout the year.
Festival Director Harun İzer said the festival once again opens its doors not only to jazz but also to different music genres.
“As always, it also travels to different geographies. In this program stretching from North America to South America, to Brazil, then to Europe and Pakistan, we will hear important masters and new voices,” he said.
Jazz musician Senem Diyici has been deemed worthy of the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
The festival will host Marcus Miller on June 30 at Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theater; Thee Sacred Souls and La Lom on July 1; “Robert Plant with Saving Grace and Suzi Dian” on July 2; Arooj Aftab on July 3 at the Atatürk Cultural Center; “Senem Diyici Mavi Yol Quartet feat. Okay Temiz” on July 4 at Salon İKSV; and “Brazil Night: Mari Froes” on July 6 at The Marmara Esma Sultan Mansion.
On July 7, “Joe Lovano feat. Antonio Farao Trio with Ira Coleman and Johnathan Blake” will perform at the garden of the Italian Consulate General in Istanbul; “+1’li Gece Gezmesi” will take place on July 8 at Moda Sahnesi & Komünite; Ayhan Sicimoğlu Harikalar Band will appear on July 9 at Hilton Istanbul Bosphorus; Selen Beytekin, Hermon Mehari and Tony Tixier will perform on July 10; and Veronica Swift will meet music lovers on July 13 at Swissotel the Bosphorus.
One of the festival’s traditional events, the Jazz Ferry, will depart from Kabataş Transfer Center on July 12.
As part of the Jazz in the Parks program, music lovers will gather in Ataşehir on July 4 and in Kadıköy on July 5. Kumpania Algazarra from Portugal will also join the event series, where groups selected for the Young Jazz+ program will take the stage.
Prior to the festival, Garanti BBVA Festival Talks will be held in March and April at Salt Beyoğlu. Three separate talks will address different topics regarding the development of jazz and contemporary music in Türkiye.
Moderated by Merve Eryürük, “Music with artificial intelligence: We got used to it, but did we agree?” will be held on March 24. On April 7, “Forty years of music memory: Pan Publishing” will be moderated by publisher and journalist Cem Erciyes. On April 28, the talk titled “How does a music venue operate?” will take place.
As part of the First Step into Art program with the support of Alarko Holding, special workshops for children titled “Jazz with Selen Beytekin: From Music to Painting” will be organized on July 7-8. Children in the 4 to 6 and 7 to 9 age groups will create paintings inspired by the music they listen to.
The workshops will be conducted by musician Selen Beytekin at İKSV Alt Kat.
