Akbank Jazz Festival Echoing Across Turkey for the Past 25 Years
Akbank Jazz Festival, one of the driving forces of positive change since its introduction to Turkey’s cultural and artistic life, is celebrating its 25th year. Dating back to its first notes that reverberated in the city in 1991, the Festival has remained a meeting point of good and new music, opening a space for various musical styles from jazz to blues, from electronic to world music for many years now.
Akbank Jazz Festival has been a haven of sounds for the different varieties of jazz since the first day it came on to the musical scene of Istanbul and continues its innovative spirit. The journey started twenty five years ago with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and hosted many milestones of jazz from Don Cherry to Pharoah Sanders, from Kenny Wheeler to Jo Zawinul. In addition to the revolutionary names of this art, it has also hosted dozens of prominent names of the mainstream of jazz. The Festival has been featuring many jazz legends from Jimmy Smith to McCoy Tyner and also it has been a stage for many masters and young names of Turkish jazz.
For many years now, as the summer days come to a close and the colours of fall become more apparent, Akbank Jazz Festival is providing its followers more than a music festival experience. With film screenings featuring jazz, workshops, panels, Jazz in Campus concerts and many more, the Festival has been a school for many people for everything about jazz. Today Akbank Jazz Festival is one of the most important international music events in Turkey and its success has been recognized with many local and international awards.
Akbank Jazz Festival has reached hundreds of thousands of spectators throughout Turkey with thousands of artists in the twenty five years and now inviting you to the “Jazz State of the City” once again. And this time a social responsibility project named “The Good State of the City” implemented with the volunteer work of hundreds of young people will also be included.
Hope to see you at the festival.