Young Jazz+24
The fourth album of Young Jazz+ is available on digital platforms. Launched by the Istanbul Jazz Festival, Young Jazz+ supports talented and promising young musicians in stepping into the professional music world and making their voices heard globally. The 2024 edition of the Young Jazz+ album series, this record features six ensembles of young musicians under the age of 28, each presenting their original work. Click to listen to the album on digital platforms.
The bands selected for this year's programme are Boba Quartet, Zozeï, ALÂN, Mojo 5, Blue Kiss Collective and Zekeriya Şahiner Quartet. All of them performed at the Istanbul Jazz Festival’s Jazz in the Parks concerts held in July 2024. Mojo 5 also took the stage before Saint Privat at the festival's award night. In September, the bands entered the studio and recorded their compositions for the Young Jazz+ 24 album, under the guidance of experienced musicians paired with them based on musical style. Kıvılcım Konca, Volkan Öktem, Korhan Futacı, Selen Gülün, Kamucan Yalçın, and Çağıl Kaya were the said mentors who also produced the tracks. The album’s recording, mixing, and mastering were handled by Sinan Sakızlı, and the cover photos belong to Muhsin Akgün.
Produced by the Istanbul Jazz Festival, which is organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) with the sponsorship of Garanti BBVA and the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Türkiye, the Young Jazz+ 24 is released with the support of İKSV Young Artist Fund and Mehmet Uluğ Fund, in collaboration with Sony Music Turkey.
Inspired by the city
Although Young Jazz+ was born in Istanbul, the project has always accepted applications from all cities across Türkiye. Yet this year, all finalists happened to be from Istanbul, which is why Young Jazz+ 24 can also be considered an ‘Istanbul album’. Indeed, the musicians featured on the album are familiar with each other and their music. through the colleges they know each other from college, the corridors of conservatories, jam sessions they’ve played together, and the festivals they’ve participated in. Some are inspired by these encounters, some are open to the idea of forming another band together, and some even step in to replace another band’s member who couldn’t perform that day. Some have already had the opportunity to play with well-known bands based in Istanbul. They are learning from the city’s music and drawing inspiration from the city itself.
The language of jazz
If there were such a language of “jazzish”, it would definitely be spoken on Young Jazz+ 24. The bands featured on the album, despite coming from different musical backgrounds and genres, stand out as skilled jazz listeners and performers. They are free to explore the boundless space jazz opens up, enriching it with the genres they love. This freedom creates a democratic form of communication during their production processes, allowing them to establish a common musical language, almost without words. As Zozeï emphasises, they are reminded that ‘everything is possible in life’, or, as Blue Kiss Collective expresses, ‘they find themselves in jazz’. Thanks to this language they owe to jazz, the pieces they recorded for the album take on a collaborative nature, and their confidence in the bonds they form while playing resonates with the listener. In this way, Young Jazz+ 24 becomes a strong first step for these amateur musicians as they transition into the professional music world.
A musical diversity nourished by jazz
The bands featured on Young Jazz+ 24 refuse to confine themselves or their compositions to a narrow frame. The pieces they recorded for the album travel a broad musical spectrum that encompasses jazz fusion, neo-soul, soul, ethnocentric jazz, electronic, bebop, R&B, dream pop, and rock fusion. BOBA Quartet’s energetic and dynamic composition ‘Güneş Kaçta Doğuyor’ may fundamentally sound like modern jazz fusion, but it also pays homage to progressive metal. Zozeï’s melancholic music, with its bittersweet tones, evokes deep emotions in their song ‘Bir Oda’, which captivates the listener with a combination of R&B and soul influences along with memorable lyrics. ALÂN explores the realm of ethno-fusion with the piano-heavy ‘DUDUDA’. Mojo 5’s ‘Simple Life’ rises on Afro-Cuban rhythms, standing out as a jazz standard. Blue Kiss Collective’s ‘Answers’ brings a touch of emotional and romantic neo-soul to the album. Finally, Zekeriya Şahiner Quartet transports the listener to a cartoon or video game universe with their long-form composition ‘Intricate-Bop’.
By Seren Erciyas
