Turkish Jazz @ Drom 7/8/08

I saw this piano solo last night that was really good. I was engaged the whole 20 min set, and I enjoyed it a lot. He had a friend do a piece in the middle of his set. His friend seemed to be more a classical pianist while this guy was more of a jazz pianist. At least that's the impression I got, but I don't think I can really tell the difference. The jazz guy was more lively and played the keys a little "lighter" than the other guy.

This is from Drom's website:

Hailing from Istanbul, Turkey, Burak Akten’s interest in music goes back to his first love, the piano. Although his academic and professional background lies in management and engineering practices, he has been a long time student of classical music. Akten gradually began showing interest in different forms of contemporary music when he was 18, which led him to work with a diverse group of producers and DJs experimenting with new sounds. His skillful piano playing and unique compositions earned him the Best Musician Award at “The Roxy Music Days,” in Istanbul in 1998, then a well-respected competition for up and coming artists in Turkey. During this time he advanced his skills in the studio working at a music production house and producing music for commercials and jingles.

In 2000, he moved to the US to attend the prestigious University of New Orleans, where he found the opportunity to work with jazz music’s finest instructors and directors at jazz music’s birthplace.

Burak Akten’s performance tonight will combine his own interpretation of the folkloric music of Turkey mixed into a rare blend of classical, contemporary jazz and Turkish fourth harmonic structures that feature "aksak" and irregular rhythms. The program consists of his own compositions as well as well-known Turkish melodies.

I wanted to stay for a little of the next band. The problem was that the pianist had a lot of friends there and once his set was over some of his friends stayed at the bar talking pretty loudly. That place has great sound with high ceilings, so the talking sounded like a roar. I have a feeling it was affecting the band's playing as I couldn't get into it. Although, I also didn't give it much of a chance. After maybe 5 minutes I decided to leave. I just wasn't in the mood to strain to listen or to wait around for them to realize how disruptive they were being or the music to take over enough to captivate me. I do want to check them out sometime as they had an interesting setup and were more electric than a typical jazzband.

Born in Turkey, Timucin Sahin moved to the Netherlands in 1992 and studied jazz guitar at the Hilversum and Amsterdam Conservatories. He later earned a bachelors degree in classical composition at Amsterdam Conservatory and Manhattan School of Music New York. He has been commissioned by and has composed for respected chamber music ensembles and performers, including the Amsterdam Percussion Group, Jorge Isaac, new contemporary music ensemble and many others. His fascination with a wide variety of musical styles and traditions from, inter alia, jazz to western contemporary music and from African to Indian music, provides him with a rich background from which to deepen, enrich and inspire his own creative processes.

"With a voracious musical appetite that includes African, Indian and more traditional western jazz and contemporary classical music, Sahin has fashioned a sound that is an intriguing blend." All About Jazz

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