The Nardis Jazz Club, situated in an old Genoese building in a side street close to the Galata Tower, is Istanbul’s oldest venue of its kind, having opened its doors in October 2002. Consisting of a stage, a ground floor seating area and a balcony, it has a maximum seating capacity of 120. Customers can have meals served at their tables. The club, which is named after a composition by Miles Davis, is owned by jazz musician Önder Focan and his wife Zuhal, the publisher and editor of Jazz magazine.
Nardis Jazz Club (Nardis Caz Klübü), Bereketzade Mah., Galata Kulesi Sok. No 8, Beyoğlu, 34421 Istanbul Click [here](https://www.nardisjazz.com – for events, click on ‘PROGRAM’) +90 (212) 244 63 27, +90 (532) 244 57 78
Performances begin at 21:30, price: 750TL
Bookings are now carried out exclusively via [email] (focan@nardisjazz.com) or by telephone: +90 (212) 244 63 27
Saturday February 1
Sibel Köse Quintet
The inimitable Sibel Köse, dubbed ‘the Queen of European Jazz’, is a vocalist of outstanding talent. Last time I saw Sibel perform, I wrote: ‘Over the three-and-a-bit years since I last had the privilege of hearing her, nothing of her energy has been lost: if anything, her singing is more powerful than ever. She 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?’
Acompanying her on this occasion will be Engin Recepoğulları (tenor saxophone), Kürşad Deniz (piano), Kağan Yıldız (double bass) and Derin Bayhan (drums).
Tuesday February 04
Bilge Günaydın Trio: Sketches of Green
Bilge Günaydın is a pianist, composer and arranger who has recently completed a master’s degree in jazz composition at William Paterson University in New Jersey, USA. She has in the past worked with famous names such as Bill Charlap, Pete McGuinness, Cecil Bridgewater, Steve Nelson and Ed Neumeister. Bilge Günaydın is also a member of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop and ISJAC, the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers, and currently works with both these organisations in the area of big band and orchestral music. In the past, her compositions have been played by the BMI Jazz Orchestra, One More Once Big Band and the Twin Cities Jazz Composers Orchestra. Her style includes elements of modern, classical and Turkish music as well as jazz.
Her first album, ‘Daydreams’, was released in 2020. At the concert on February 4th, she will be performing numbers from her second album ‘Sketches of Green’ as well as some new arrangements, and will be accompanied by the musicians who appeared on that album – Cenk Erdoğan (guitar) and Ozan Musluoğlu (double bass).
Friday February 14
İpek Göztepe Quintet
İpek Göztepe, who began her musical education at the Piano Department of the Istanbul University State Conservatoire, subsequently performed in various choirs singing western and Turkish classical music. Her interest in soul, jazz and blues began in 2013, when she began appearing at various local venues as a lead singer. In 2017 she won the 13th Nardis Young Jazz Vocal Competition, which entitled her to attend the Pulawy Jazz Workshop in Poland. She has also received training in jazz vocal at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria. Her teachers in Turkey, meanwhile, have included Güç Başar Gülle (for jazz theory) and Randy Esen (the wife of Aydın Esen) for jazz singing. She is currently continuing her eduction at the Yıldız University Communication Design Department. During the İKSV Jazz Festival in July 2023, I heard İpek Göztepe perform with her quintet at the Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall, and was very favourably impressed, especially when she let rip with some urgent, powerful singing.
On this occasion, the musicians accompanying her will be Peter Shalamov (piano), Kerem Can Dündar (guitar), Yarkın Tuncer (double bass) and Mert Can Bilgin (drums).
Saturday February 15
Dilek Sert Erdoğan Band
Dilek Sert Erdoğan, known as Turkey’s most powerful soul vocalist, has a voice that is described as ‘black satin’, her style being a mixture of jazz, soul, funk, blues and improvisation. Her first album, entitled ‘Moments’, appeared in 2013, and has proved very popular; all the songs on it were written by the lady herself. In addition to being a singer, Dilek Sert Erdoğan is also an actress, and has in the past worked in radio. On this occasion she will be singing songs by Aretha Franklin, one of her own favourite singers, and her group will consist of Uraz Kıvaner (piano), Önder Focan (guitar), Baran Say (double bass) and Burak Cihangirli (drums).
Saturday February 22
İpek Dinç Band
Singer İpek Dinç, a graduate of the Istanbul University Faculty of Chemistry, first came to prominence when she won the Nardis Club’s competition for young jazz vocalists in 2009 and was subsequently invited to sing at the Nömme Jazz Festival in Tallinn, Estonia. Offering a repertoire of R&B as well as jazz standards, she is to be accompanied this evening by Anıl Şallıel (tenor saxophone), Uraz Kıvaner (piano), Burak Atlı (bass guitar) and Erhan Seçkin (drums).
Tuesday February 25
Flapper Swing
Flapper Swing is a group that keeps alive the musical atmosphere of the roaring 1920s – ‘the times when jazz was still fun’. It has five members: vocalist Nevin Hetmanek, tenor saxophonist Batu Şallıel, guitarists Erhan Erbelger and Tomas Hetmanek, and double-bassist, guitarist and pianist Volkan Topakoğlu. (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.