The Istanbul Jazz Festival presents the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award to jazz musician Senem Diyici, who continued her career in France for many years and has successfully represented Türkiye internationally through her original music blending Turkish melodies with jazz, the albums she has released, and the concerts she has given in dozens of countries.

Musician and painter Senem Diyici was born in Istanbul in 1953. At the age of six, she joined the Istanbul Radio Children’s Choir. She received classical music and music theory training from Feridun Darbaz and vocal training from Ruhi Su. In 1969, at the age of 16, she released her first 45 rpm single under the name Fato, featuring her compositions ‘Nar Hanım Gül Hanım’ and ‘Sen Yoksun’. Under the name Senem, she released her second 45 rpm record in 1973 with Yankı Plak, including the songs ‘Ham Meyva’ and ‘Çıt Çıt’.

In the early 1980s, she settled in France and continued her career there. With the trio she founded in Paris, she released the album Anadolu (1983), featuring traditional Turkish arrangements and collective compositions. After meeting radio producer Patrick Tandin, they collaborated on the album Takalar (1989). The seven-track album, released under the name Senem Diyici Sextet, featured Okay Temiz on percussion, and the song ‘Takalar’ was written by Bülent Ecevit. In the 1990s, she worked with guitarist, arranger, and composer Alain Blessing, creating projects that synthesized jazz, rock, and traditional Turkish music. She released the albums Geste (1993), Divan, (1995), Jest, (1998), Tell Me Trabizon, (1998), Morceaux Choisis, (2001), Zıpçıktı, (2003), and Live!, (2004). Her albums received awards and nominations in France and were praised by critics in prestigious publications such as France Soir, Libération, and Le Nouvel Observateur. After years of touring and performing hundreds of concerts, she returned to Istanbul, where she recorded the album Nara (2021).