İpek Dinç at Nardis, July 4
Image: Nardis Jazz Club
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. It has a maximum seating capacity of 120. Customers can have meals served at their tables. Here are some July highlights.
SATURDAY, JULY 4
İpek Dinç Band
Vocalist İpek Dinç, a graduate of the Istanbul University Faculty of Chemical Engineering, 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. On July 4 she is accompanied by Kaan Bıyıkoğlu (piano), Önder Focan (guitar), Alper Yılmaz (bass guitar) and Erhan Seçkin (drums) in a programme of Latin and funk numbers as well as jazz standards.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 8
Eggmann Quartet
Guitarist Egemen Tosunbaş, a native of Izmir who was trained in his art at the Jazz Academy of Bahçeşehir University (Istanbul), is currently studying ‘Global Jazz’ at the Berklee College of Music in the USA. The majority of the compositions and arrangements played by the ‘Eggmann Quartet’, a group he founded, are his work; many of these are in the hard-bop and post-bop genres. Crowded Windows, their first single, appeared in 2023. His fellow musicians on July 8 are Hakan Başar (piano), Barış Öztürk (double bass) and Berkay Sümbül (drums).
THURSDAY, JULY 9
Volkan Topakoğlu Quartet
Double-bass player, composer and educator Volkan Topakoğlu specialised in the piano and the cello at the Avni Akyol Fine Arts Lycée in Istanbul, following which he graduated from the Art and Design Faculty of Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul, as a bass guitarist. Following this, he received training in Composition at the Istanbul Technical University (İTÜ) Turkish Music State Conservatoire, and in Jazz at the Istanbul University State Conservatoire. In 2013, he was a finalist at the Nömme Jazz Festival in Estonia. His first album, Birdenbire (‘Suddenly’), appeared in 2015. He currently teaches at the Yıldız Technical University Music Department. Accompanying him on this occasion are Kürşad Deniz (piano) and Berke Özgümüş (drums).
SATURDAY, JULY 11
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. 2022 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. Since 2023, Ceren Temel has been teaching ear training and basic musicianship at Kadir Has University, Istanbul. On July 11, her fellow-musicians will be Kaan Karadavut (trumpet), Onat Murat (piano), Anıl Deniz (double bass) and Burak Bulut (drums).
THURSDAY, JULY 23
Bilge Günaydın Trio
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. Her style includes elements of modern, classical and Turkish music as well as jazz. With her on the stage on July 23 are Enver Muhamedi (double bass) and Ekin Cengizkan (drums).
FRIDAY, JULY 24
Evrim Özşuca Band
Evrim Özşuca graduated as a jazz vocalist from the Music Department of Bilgi University, Istanbul. 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, she was invited to sing at international jazz festivals in Finland, Estonia and Lithuania. She then 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. Evrim Özşuca, who has been coaching jazz vocalists since 2003, has a style that combines blues, R&B, soul and funk. On this occasion, she is accompanied by Tugay Genç (alto & tenor saxophones), Can Tutuğ (vibraphone), Habib Haznedar (bass) and Erhan Seçkin (drums).
FRIDAY, JULY 31
Brenda Berin Band
Vocalist Brenda Berin, trained in the USA, is known for having founded the ‘Authentic Anatolian Project’ together with some of Turkey’s finest jazz musicians. In 2013 she released an album entitled Sakın Ağlama (‘Please Don’t Cry’) together with world-famous drummer Dave Weckl. In the past, she has taken part in projects with famous musicians such as Erik Truffaz, Talvin Singh and Jean-Pierre Smadj, and has made a large number of recordings for films, TV series and jingles in Turkey. Her fellow-musicians on July 31 are Yahya Dai (alto & tenor saxophones), Baturay Yarkın (piano), Erkan Zeki Ar (guitar), Volkan Topakoğlu (double bass) and Mert Can Bilgin (drums).
İpek Dinç at Nardis, July 4
Image: Nardis Jazz Club
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