WAS IN LONDON
A big thank you!
For participating in all our sold-out events for two days.
I have always thought that due to their background that embraces a synthesis of the East and the West, Anatolian musicians have the courage to take steps towards integrating an international music genre like jazz with other genres. With the content that we produce on our platform, we have been creating awareness about how important complete fusion into the local culture is in terms of international connections, or in more contemporary terms, global cultural communication.
Concepts such as synthesis, fusion and memory are at the centre of our Turkish Jazz Club projects, whose first and honorary guest was Nardis Jazz Club this year. We were delighted to present these two fantastic days as a glimpse into the thousands of years of Anatolian heritage as a part of the phenomenal EFG London Jazz Festival. As the motto of Nardis goes; "Jazz better be listened to in a club".
See you at one of our beautifully crafted another event. Thanks for following and supporting us..
Batu Akyol
Curator of pop-up Jazz Club Program
Director of Turquazz Culture
Part-time Doormen
Thanks to Ozlem, the project's entire financial and operational management was concluded successfully.
Ozlem Dinc
Business Manager
Part-Time Bartender
Big thanks to our production team!
For making this fantastic stage possible.
We would like to thank Burak, who smoothly coordinated and implemented all the technical details and logistics of the events. From ensuring all artists' stage needs are met in the background, to brilliantly performing himself on stage - his contribution was outstanding!
Burak Ersoz
Production Manager
Part-time Ice-Guy
Ender Akay
Sound Engineer
Feridun K. Ercan
Live Recording Engineer
..and thanks to our club team
for their extreme effort.
Bulent Buyuksayar
Bartender
Janbek Ozdemir
Bartender
Oyku Demir
Administration
Duru Bebekoglu
Tickets
It was a great pleasure meeting new and old friends,
about six hundred of you visited our pop-up club in two days.
We want to thank Pelin Opçin, Serious and the Festival team for all their support.
Let us share some moments
from our fantastic two days
With big thanks to KULUP RAKI
Our "Oglen Rakisi" event was such a joy.
At this speakeasy event;
we shared stories of Thomas the "Black Russian", Maksim Tavern
and the tale of raki in Turkey with our guests.
Gozdem and Batu were super interactive on stage. Participants' reactions were amazing, we can't wait to do this event again.
One of our visionary supporters, Erdal Ucar's Gallipoli team, was with us with their usual high-quality services and delicious foods. Remember to visit the famous Gallipoli on Angel / Upper Street.
Our Turkish wines were supplied by Anatolian Foods with a special selection by Tuncay Ugurlu.
Big thanks to David Phillips, Gretsch Drums and London Drum Company for providing the beautiful USA Custom kit that sounded so great on our club's stage.
Nardis London Pop-Up was hosted by Zuhal Focan (a.k.a. ZUZU),
just as she always does at the Nardis Jazz club in Istanbul.
We are grateful to Janette, the venue manager, who made us feel at home, and Ed,
who was supportive the entire time on the pitch.
PERFORMANCES
Onder Focan Quartet
Bruce Lindsay from allaboutjazz.com shares about Onder Focan's latest album 'Aubergine':
He draws on a range of influences to create a warm, mellow sound which fits perfectly into his equally wide-ranging compositional approach.
Önder Focan’s brilliantly performed compositions from his latest album “Aubergine”, as well as other compositions and jazz standards he wrote for his group. Ozan Musluoğlu, on double bass, has many projects and compositions. Bulut Gülen is on trombone, a highly acclaimed musician with his latest album, “Bosphorus Train”. Burak Cihangirli played the drums is a talented and creative young artist of the last period of Turkey’s jazz scene.
We would like to thank Alfred Berkshire, an education company that values art and artists for making these two unforgettable performances possible.
Remembering Maffy Falay Ferit Odman Quintet
Our famous world-class jazz drummer Ferit Odman left the audience mesmerized. Steve Fishwick, who joined the band from London, created wonders with his trumpet. The rest of the GIG was like a superleague of the Turkish jazz scene; Batu Salliel (sax), Uraz Kivaner (piano), and Ozan Musluoglu (bass) were on stage.
Tunes of Tuna Otenel Ozan Musluoglu Quartet
The same superleague of the Turkish jazz scene was on stage for another project;
Rachel Coombes from londonjazznews.com says;
"The grand finale of the Nardis celebration was given to bass player Ozan Musluoglu's quartet, who paid musical tribute to the composer, pianist and sax player Tuna Ötenel (born in 1947) - jazz mentor to many of today's greatest Turkish jazz musicians. All of the tunes bore subtle traces of Ötenel cultural heritage, blended with a more 'universal' jazz style in such a way that demonstrated their intrinsic musical malleability of the Turkish vernacular. This was a world-class performance, and a fitting way to round off Turquazz's tribute to the fertile contemporary jazz scene in Turkey."
Batu Salliel (sax), Uraz Kivaner (piano), Ozan Musluoglu (bass), Ferit Odman (drums) were on stage.
Anatolian Fusion Ensemble
Rachel Coombes from londonjazznews.com says; "A largely improvised set by the Anatolian Fusion Ensemble. Ozan Baysal produced some wonderful passages of taqsim (prefatory melodic improvisation) on the double-necked baglama, immersing the audience in a quintessentially Arabic soundscape. His playing style - known as selpe (an Anatolian technique that dispenses with the plectrum) - allowed for subtle manipulations in tone quality. His long meditative melodic lines were anchored by the sensitive drumming of Burak Ersoz and the gentle electric bass of Bora Bekiroglu. This calmer lyricism was woven together with passages of stomping hard rock, Anatolian rock and progressive rock elements. The overall effect was of slowly undulating musical wave forms. It was clear that Tolga Zafer, on electronics and keyboard, was in his element experimenting with timbral variations, switching nimbly from celeste-like flurries on keys to resonant synth wails that soared over the musical texture."
Female Voices of Turkey
We would like to thank our house band consisting of Burak Ersoz (drums), Bulut Gulen (trombone), Gianni Boscarino (keys), and Bora Bekiroglu (bass), for accompanying the female voices since the beginning of the project.
Dolunay Obruk
Her cabaret skills and her pieces created a fantastic atmosphere on stage. We are so happy that we made it possible for you to meet Dolunay, who will start her new concerts soon in London.
Sezin Angelova
She mesmerized the audience with her originals and wonderful singing style. Her own orchestra took the stage for this performance. Thank you guys; Jomy Jai (keys), Brian Charles Hedemann (drums), Joeri Pronk (bass).
Sibel Demir
Her delightful performance transported us to different parts of the world with each song from a variety of genres.
