April 30 International Jazz Day is celebrated across the world to emphasize the uniting power of the musical style. Here is a chance to learn more about the Turkish jazz scene's famed artists on the eve of this special day
Jazz music was born in the United States primarily by the African American community at the very beginning of the 20th century. In the heart of this harmonically sophisticated genre of music is improvisation. While a series of brilliant musicians, such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, led the development of jazz, this genre reached Europe and on to other regions across the world in time.
Organizing music night at the Turkish Embassy in Washington and inviting African American jazz performers, the brothers went on to revolutionize the American musical universe by establishing Atlantic Records in 1947. Their company played a role in the growth of famous singers and bands, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.
The first jazz club was opened in Istanbul in Turkey in the late 1960s. After being preferred as the venue's music in those times, jazz music became one of the most popular genres in the country within 10 years. In 1978, pianist and saxophonist Tuna Ötenel, along with drummer Erol Pekcan and bass guitarist Kudret Öztoprak, released Turkey's first jazz LP "Caz Semai." Also, the first international jazz festival in Turkey was held in Istanbul during the 1980s. Many musicians devoted themselves to the evolution of jazz in the Turkish scene.
On the eve of International Jazz Day, which UNESCO declared in 2011 "to highlight jazz and its diplomatic role of uniting people in all corners of the globe," let’s take a look at some of these talented musicians, both to commemorate them and appreciate their contributions to the Turkish jazz world.