Terence Blanchard and many more make 33rd Akbank Jazz Festival as colourful as ever

Akbank Jazz Festival, which is rich with venues of historic significance in one of the oldest metropolises of the world, opened with Mercan Dede’s live DJ Set with Secret Tribe at Gazhane, a 130-year-old power plant converted into a museum and community space in 2021. Dede, who lives in Canada where he first went for his graduate studies, has been a highly acclaimed figure in the international electronic music scene since the late 1990s. With his music heavily inspired by Sufi philosophy and sounds, he, as always, mesmerised his dedicated audience in Istanbul at the festival’s free-entry opening concert.

One of the highlights of this year’s festival was the sold-out concert of Al Di Meola, the celebrated of jazz fusion guitarist. Lakecia Benjamin, who flows through jazz, R&B, and funk as she plays the alto saxophone with effortless virtuosity, was another extraordinary musician at this year’s Akbank Jazz. Among other women who received admiration were two pianists: Yumi Ito, accompanied by I. Fernández on drums, and K. Dworak on double bass; and Zoe Rahman Trio with Gene Calderazzo on drums, and Alec Dankworth on double bass.

Babylon, Istanbul’s famed music venue, hosted some of the best concerts of the festival once again this year. Eminent saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, accompanied by Micah Thomas on piano and Kweku Sumbre on drums, was splendid on stage. Listening to the music of multi-instrumentalist composer Joe Acheson’s Hidden Orchestra project, presented with beautifully hypnotic visuals, was one of the most unforgettable experiences at this year’s festival.

Vincent Peirani, Ballaké Sissoko, Vincent Segal and Émile Parisien

The next day at the club was a special night: a memorial for its deceased co-founder Mehmet Uluğ, and on stage was Turkish-Swedish İlhan Ersahin, who has been creating wonders for some decades in that magical realm where jazz meets dance/electronic music. On that amazing night, in addition to the members of his Istanbul Sessions project, he was also accompanied by the legendary jazz trumpeter Erik Truffaz in a couple of songs. Truffaz was on Babylon’s stage again the next night with his quartet, fascinating the audience as his cinematic tunes took them to a wide array of atmospheres from Martin Scorsese to Jean-Luc Godard. In other words, on that evening, skipping the dinner and running to Babylon, as soon as Tord Gustavsen Trio’s marvellous concert at Zorlu ended was well worth the effort.

Zorlu hosted another highlight of this year’s festival: Terence Blanchard featuring his E-Collective with Turtle Island Quartet. This was a terrific night; long as it was, the audience could have stayed another couple of hours under the spell of jazz meeting classical sounds. Another example of a perfect collaboration on stage was the incredible chemistry between Ballaké Sissoko on kora, Vincent Segal on cello, Vincent Peirani on accordion, and Émile Parisien on saxophone, as they played tunes from their recent project album Les Egarés. The festival included significant musicians from Turkey as well, such as the globally acclaimed pianist Kerem Görsev; and the young and gifted clarinet player Onur Çalışkan, who attracts attention with his success in serenely placing traditional Eastern motives into his well-structured jazz tunes.

Akbank Jazz, in its 33rd year, ended with 33 fabulous concerts enjoyed by an audience of 15,000, as well as panels, workshops and activities enhancing interest in jazz music with its breath-taking expressions through limitless forms and styles.