Jazz concerts are held every night except Sunday. The music starts at 21:30. Seating is is on a first-come-first-served basis, starting at 20:30. Reservations are kept until 21:15 (i.e., 15 minutes before the music starts). Tables for two are limited. All other tables are shared. Bookings by email (focan@nardisjazz.com) or telephone: +90 (212) 244 63 27,or WhatsApp +90 532 244 5778
Price: 800TL
John Shakespeare Dyson, Cornucopia's music critic, picks his highlights this month.
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Friday, February 6
İpek Dinç Band
Vocalist İpek Dinç is joined by Koray Üsgülen (Hammond organ), Çağdaş Oruç (alto and tenor saxophones), Baran Say (double bass) and Erhan Seçkin (drums) in a programme of Latin and funk numbers as well as jazz standards. Dinç, a chemical engineer graduate of Istanbul University, began her musical career in 2005, when she met the late jazz pianist and singer İlham Gencer. In 2006, she was a finalist in the Nardis Club’s Young Vocalists Competition. She first came to prominence when she won this competition in 2009, and was subsequently invited to sing at the Nömme Jazz Festival in Tallinn, Estonia.
Saturday, February 7
Dilek Sert Erdoğan Band
Dilek Sert Erdoğan is known as Turkey’s most powerful soul vocalist, with a voice described as ‘black satin’. Her style is a mixture of jazz, soul, funk, blues and improvisation. Born in 1976, she is an English and Literature graduate from Istanbul University. During her student years she read the English news on the BBC Forex radio station, worked as Foreign News Coordinator for the ‘Kanal D’ TV channel, and prepared radio programmes for Atlas magazine. She also acts. She wrote the songs on her first album, Moments, the first original soul album in English to appear in Turkey. Released in 2013, it became the best-selling jazz album in the country. Accompanying her at Nardis are Koray Üsgülen (Hammond organ and piano), Sıtkı Sırtanadolu (guitar), Baran Say (double bass) and Berke Köymen (drums).
Tuesday, February 10
Eggmann Trio
The ‘Eggman Trio’ is the brainchild of guitarist Egemen Tosunbaş, who is also the creator of the majority of the compositions and arrangements they play. Many are in a meld of modern jazz, hard-bop and post-bop. Crowded Windows, the first single by the ‘Eggmann Quartet’, was produced by Volkan Öktem and appeared in 2023. At Nardis Tosunbaş is joined by Barış Öztürk (double bass) and Berkay Sümbül (drums) for a mixture of original compositions and jazz standards.
Thursday, February 12
Bulut Gülen Quartet
Trombonist and composer Bulut Gülen began his musical education at the age of 9. He graduated from the trombone departments of the Hacettepe University (Ankara) and Istanbul University State Conservatoires. In 2017, he went to Boston to take a Professional Music Diploma course at the Berklee College of Music, subsequently completing his training with a Master’s course at the New England Conservatory. Since then, he has performed in concerts and festivals in the USA, Canada, Germany, Belgium, Holland and various Balkan countries as well as in Turkey; some of the famous jazz clubs at which he has performed are Birdland, The Jazz Gallery, National Sawdust and Jazz at Lincoln Center. Bulut Gülen, who has made recordings with a number of big bands and smaller ensembles both in his home country and abroad, currently teaches the trombone at the Hacettepe University State Conservatoire and the Bahçeşehir University Conservatoire (Istanbul). His first album, *Su*, appeared in 2015, and consisted of his own compositions; this was followed by *Bosphorus Train* in 2022. Accompanying him on February 12 will be Kürşad Deniz (piano), Kağan Yıldız (double bass) and Berke Özgümüş (drums).
Saturday, February 21
Ceren Temel Quintet
Vocalist, songwriter and pedagogue Ceren Temel has a repertoire that encompasses a wide range of styles from bebop to modern jazz. She is noted for her improvisations, her own compositions and her original takes on jazz standards. In Berlin in 2022 she created a project entitled ‘I’m the Voice and I Can’t Be Silenced!’ together with spoken word, performance and visual artist Lady Gaby; making use of loops and vocal improvisations, it focussed on women’s rights and feminism. That year also saw the appearance of The Rewind – her first EP album, consisting of five of her own compositions. In 2024, she represented Turkey at the Bansko and Sochi Jazz Festivals. From 2019 to 2022, she had taught jazz vocal at the Hacettepe University State Conservatoire (Ankara). Since 2023, shehas been teaching ear training and basic musicianship at Kadir Has University, Istanbul. She is currently preparing a doctorate thesis on jazz improvisation at the Istanbul University State Conservatoire. On February 21, her fellow-musicians will be Kaan Karadavut (trumpet), Kaan Bıyıkoğlu (piano), Eren Kutlu (double bass) and Burak Bulut (drums).
Thursday February 26
Flapper Swing
Flapper Swing is a ‘manouche’ (i.e., gypsy jazz) group in the tradition of the Belgian-Romani jazz guitarist Jean ‘Django’ Reinhardt (1910-1953) and the American saxophonist, clarinettist and composer Sidney Bechet (1897-1959). It keeps alive the musical atmosphere of the roaring 1920s – ‘the times when jazz was still fun’. The group has five members: Nevin Hetmanek on vocals, Batu Şallıel on saxophone, Erhan Erbelger and Tomas Hetmanek on guitars, and Volkan Topakoğlu on double bass. (I believe Tomas Hetmanek hails from the Czech Republic.) They appear on stage in 1920s costume, but the audience is at liberty to dress as they will. I have fond memories of the times when Flapper Swing played in the street – at the Tünel end of İstiklal Caddesi. I always admired their blend of musical professionalism and good humour.
Friday, February 27
Evrim Özşuca Band
Evrim Özşuca took her first steps towards a career as a musician at Bilkent University, Ankara, where she began studying the cello at the age of 13. Having formed her first jazz group at 17, she attended the Music Department of Bilgi University, Istanbul, graduating as a jazz vocalist. In 2005, she won the Nardis Jazz Club’s Young Jazz Vocalists Competition and the International Young Jazz Vocalists Competition at the Nömme Jazz Festival in Estonia. As a result of these successes, she was invited to sing at international jazz festivals in Finland, Estonia and Lithuania. Following this, she gave concerts with jazz trumpeter Ted Curson (1935-2012) in New York and Paris, and featured on his album *In Paris – Live at the Sunside*. In 2008, she took part in Turkish pianist, composer and pedagogue Ali Perret’s ‘Atonal Standards’ project. Evrim Özşuca, who has been coaching jazz vocalists since 2003, has a style that combines elements of blues, R&B, soul and funk. On this occasion, she is to be accompanied by Bulut Gülen (trombone), Önder Focan (guitar), Barış Öztürk (double bass) and Ayhan Öztoplu (drums).
Saturday, February 28
Sibel Köse Quintet
The inimitable Sibel Köse, dubbed Istanbul's ‘Queen of European Jazz’, is a vocalist of outstanding talent. She began singing jazz while studying Architecture at the Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ), Ankara; when she performed with the legendary Turkish jazz pianist, saxophonist and composer Tuna Ötenel. She says she learned a lot from him, though he never gave her formal lessons. The second influence on her artistic development was Janusz Szprot, a Polish musician who came to Ankara in the 1990s to head up the Jazz Department of Bilkent University. He invited her to attend a summer school for jazz vocalists in Poland, and she received tuition there from Deborah Brown and Rachel Gould, two singers from the USA. A third major influence was French trumpet-player, composer and arranger Jean-Loup Longnon; she has recently made recordings with his big band at the Studios Ferber in Paris.
Accompanying Sibel at Nardis are Engin Recepoğulları (tenor saxophone), Kürşad Deniz (piano), Kağan Yıldız (double bass) and Berke Özgümüş (drums). Last time I saw her perform there, I found her singing more powerful than ever. Sibel hits the high notes with tremendous force and faultless intonation; she improvises creatively with nonsense words even more frequently than before, fashioning them into meaningful episodes within the song as a whole; and her emotional range remains unrivalled within my experience of jazz singers. All this is mixed in with both a searing sincerity and a wry sense of humour. How could anyone fail to enjoy and appreciate her artistry?
Bova Jazz Club
