ISTANBUL - The 15th International Jazz Festival will turn Istanbul into a jazz city between July 2nd and 16th.
Worldwide famous musicians will give nearly 40 concerts during the festival hosted by the Istanbul Culture & Art Foundation (IKSV) under the aegis of Garanti Bank.
Those concerts will take place in different sites such as Cemil Topuzlu center, Sepetciler Palace, Esma Sultan Mansion, Hagia Eirene Museum, Cemal Resit Rey Concert Hall, Archeology Museum, Nardis Jazz Club and Istinye Park.
The festival will begin with an opening ceremony at the Esma Sultan Mansion on July 1st where prominent Turkish jazz musician Tuna Otenel will be presented with Lifetime Achievement Award. This award was given to Ahmet Ertegun in 2002, Arif Mardin in 2003, Suheyl Denizci in 2004, Muvaffak "Maffy" Falay in 2005, Cuneyt Sermet in 2006 and Selcuk Sun in 2007.
Academy Award and Grammy award-winning American jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock is the honorary guest of this year`s festival. Hancock will give two concerts on July 2nd and 3rd.
Lenny Kravitz, one of legendary names of the rock music, will greet Istambulis on July 30th as a part of his world tour --"It Is Time For A Love Revolution".
Five time Grammy award winner Brazilian composer, singer, guitarist, writer, and political activist Caetano Veloso; Italian trumpet and flugelhorn jazz player Paolo Fresu, Carla Bley who is considered one of the most important composers of modern jazz, worldwide famous bass guitar player Marcus Miller, seven time Grammy award winner Al Jarreau, Dianne Reeves, Nnenna Freelon, Ivan Lins, Omara Portuondo, Yasmin Levy and Rufus Wainwright are among guests of this year`s festival.
Trumpet master Muvaffak "Maffy" Falay will take the stage with a project entitled "Maffy Falay Quintet- Turkey Meets Scandinavia".
Coolbone Band from New Orleans will cheer up jazz lovers in Istanbul with its street concerts on July 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th and 8th.
"The Jazz Boat" accompanied by a musical crew formed by members of the fun loving band Coolbone and the Istanbul Saxophone Quartet will set sail from the Kabatas ferry pier at 11.00 am on July 6th. The Jazz Boat will stop at Anadolu Kavagi and return to Kabatas after a two-hour trip.
Tickets ranging from 15 YTL to 120 YTL (one dollar equals 1.25 YTL) will be available through Biletix web-site and at the IKSV Office in Istanbul as of May 24th.
(UK-ULG)