Organised by the İKSV with the sponsorship of Garanti BBVA, the 32nd Istanbul Jazz Festival will take place from 1 to 18 July 2025. Three spectacular headliners will kick off the Festival with performances at Istanbul’s Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theatre. The complete festival programme will be announced in the coming months.
Grammy-winning Afro-Cuban music legend Chucho Valdés opens the Festival
Festival Opening Concert: Chucho Valdés Royal Quartet
1 July 2025, Tuesday
Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theatre
21.30
Cuban pianist, composer, and arranger Chucho Valdés is a towering figure in Afro-Cuban jazz. He revolutionised Cuban music by founding Irakere in 1973, blending African rhythms with jazz and introducing Cuban dance music to percussion instruments like the batá. Valdés is credited with pioneering Timba Cubana and organising the first International Cuban Jazz Festival, while mentoring artists such as Arturo Sandoval and Paquito D’Rivera. With a career spanning decades, Valdés has won 6 Grammy Awards and 3 Latin Grammy Awards. For the Festival’s opening night, he will perform alongside Horacio ‘El Negro’ Hernández (drums), José A. Gola (bass), and Roberto Jr. Vizcaíno (percussion).
Hermanos Gutiérrez: Rising stars of Latin guitar
Hermanos Gutiérrez
Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theatre
2 July 2025, Wednesday
20.00
Alejandro and Estevan Gutiérrez brothers have captivated audiences with their evocative Latin guitar music. Since their debut album, 8 Años (2017), they have crafted a distinctive soundscape that evokes the deserts of their heritage, relying solely on two guitars without vocals. The duo gained international acclaim with albums like El Camino De Mi Alma (2018) and Sonido Cósmico (2024), produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys. Their performance at Coachella last summer was hailed by Rolling Stone as a ‘hallucinogenic energy-filled soundscape.’ This will be their first major concert in Türkiye.
Max Richter: Bridging contemporary classical with electronic
Max Richter
Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theatre
3 July 2025, Thursday
21.00
Celebrated composer and pianist Max Richter will perform in Istanbul for the first time. Known for his innovative fusion of classical and electronic music, Richter has created scores for films and TV series such as Shutter Island, Arrival, The Leftovers, Black Mirror, and The Last of Us. Richter’s setlist will include pieces from his latest acoustically rich album, In A Landscape, which explores the intersection of human and nature, as well as selections from The Blue Notebooks, a seminal work in contemporary classical music.
Ticket sales begin on 14 January
Festival tickets will be available from Tuesday, 14 January through the Festival's official ticket provider Passo’s website, mobile app and sales points, and İKSV box office (open every day except Sundays; between 10.00-13.00 and 14.00-18.00).
Garanti BBVA credit cards give you a 10% discount.
Tulip Card members enjoy discounts, priority sales and privileges on all İKSV events.
