The Festival will be held between 2-16 July 2008 under the sponsorship of Garanti Bank. On its 15th year, the Festival is getting ready to convert Istanbul into a city of jazz together with a special program and big names. The programme of the 15th International Istanbul Jazz Festival will be announced at a press party on Wednesday, May 21st at 18:30 at New Yorker Kurucesme.

After the 14th International İstanbul Jazz Festival

The 14th edition of the International İstanbul Jazz Festival took place between July 3-18, 2007. The musicians of the festival carried their music from stages on to the streets for Istanbul's music lovers.

On the top of last year's attractions was Norah Jones – she filled the air with her magestic voice and much loved songs at Cemil Topuzlu Open Air Theater with an impressive audience of 4,000. Another star at the Open Air Theater was Robert Plant - the vocalist of Led Zeppelin, one of the most charismatic bands in the history of rock music. Together with his world music band, The Strange Sensation, Robert Plant put on a visual and musical feast for festival-goers. Another memorable event was on the night of July 5th, Thursday at the Open Air Theater – the concert of Bryan Ferry. With his special album reserved solely for Bob Dylan classics, the Dylanesque, Ferry made another big hit in the music world. On the night of July 10th, Tuesday, the adorable vocalist of the world-acclaimed Bee Gees, Robin Gibb, performed Bee Gees hits from the 70's, accompanied by The Philharmonia İstanbul Orchestra.

Among other major attractions were the concerts of Michael Bolton at the Sepetçiler Palace and Randy Crawford and Joe Sample, together after so many years, at the Esma Sultan Palace. Both concerts were set at the face of the beautiful Bosphorus that added a touch of excellence.

The New Poets category of the festival focused on some of the greatest bands of our times in alternative rock and folk genres. Blonde Redhead staged a wonderful show at İstanbul Modern. Antony & The Johnsons and José González performed at the Şan Theater which had been burnt down to ashes 20 years earlier. The tickets were sold out way in advance of the concert days – to show the young face of the festival.

Apart from these major concerts of the festival, many other talented musicians performed their uniquely impressive works in various venues around the city. In the very heart of İstanbul, a very special place - the garden of the French Cultural Center - was converted into a jazz club for the “European Jazz Club” concerts. This was the venue reserved for the concerts of many masters of jazz such as Sibel Köse and Michiel Borstlap, South Maxico from Sweden, Selçuk Sun and Bodil Niska Quartet. Moreover, the “Young Jazz” section of the festival, which is one of the major festival projects, also took place in this unique venue. Other spectacular venues last year were the Istanbul Jazz Center, that opened its doors for Mike Stern, Steps Ahead and Freddy Cole Quartet, and the Nardis Jazz Club housing the concerts of Sarp Maden Quartet and Selim Benba Group, as well as some “jam sessions”. Another remarkable concert was by the world famous master of percussion, Okay Temiz. Accompanied by Bobo Stenson from Sweden and the Karnataka College of Percussion from India, Temiz put on a beautiful show for his fans at the garden of the Archaeological Museum.

As in the previous years, the enthusiasm of the festival was carried out on to the streets of İstanbul. Algiers Brass Band added a new life and soul to various spots around the city from Maçka to the Caddebostan Coastline. Algiers Brass Band also continued the mission on the Jazz Boat cruising on the Bosphorus.

Picture Gallery