Rise of jazz in Türkiye: From radio waves to cultural icon

Radio has always held a significant place in the history of jazz in Türkiye. Since the late 1920s, radio programs generally consisted of pre-recorded broadcasts, with the most affordable sources being records imported from the United States to fill airtime. During low-listening hours, a considerable amount of jazz was played to complete the schedule. As radio broadcasts reached a larger audience in the 1940s, a substantial jazz-listening community emerged in Türkiye. Responding to public demand, jazz and dance orchestras were established at radio stations in Istanbul and Ankara.

Interestingly, in the early 1930s, Halkevleri (People’s Houses), which functioned as cultural hubs, played an essential role in the early development of jazz in Türkiye. Jazz spread even to the most remote regions of the country. In fact, “jazz ensembles” were formed in Halkevleri in Uşak, Çanakkale and Kadıköy.

Emergence of Turkish jazz

The 1930s were notable for pioneering jazz musicians such as Viktor Kohenka, Haris Akıncı and Arto Haçaturyan. Cüneyt Sermet highlighted that the formation of jazz in Türkiye was initially influenced by Armenian and Jewish musicians, followed by prominent figures like Arif Mardin, Ismet Sıral, Erol Pekcan and Emin Fındıkoğlu, who significantly contributed to Turkish jazz in later years.

In the 1940s, Arto Haçaturyan and his brother Dikran founded a jazz group called Swing Amatör, which performed several concerts in Istanbul until 1946. Clarinetist Hrant Lusigyan was also part of this group.

Erdoğan Çaplı was among the pioneers of the folk jazz movement in Türkiye. During the 1940s, he worked alongside Ismet Sıral and performed concerts with drummer Erol Pekcan. In the same period, Muvaffak “Maffy” Falay and Erdoğan Çaplı performed as a duo in jazz programs. From the 1940s onward, the Tevs sisters, Sevinç and Sevim, began to showcase their vocal and interpretive talents in jazz orchestras.

After the 1930s, many intellectuals aligned with early Republican music policies harshly criticized jazz, viewing it as harmful to Turkish culture. Figures such as Ercüment Behzat Lav, Ismail Hakkı Baltacıoğlu and Ecvet Güresin called for the removal of “harmful music” like jazz from Turkish soil. Despite this opposition, jazz continued to develop through radio broadcasts. For instance, in 1945, Halil Bedii Yönetken hosted a jazz program on the radio where he discussed the records he played. The Istanbul Radio Salon Orchestra and the Radio Symphony Orchestra regularly performed jazz programs. During this period, Joseph Joseph’s famous jazz piece was translated into Turkish as “Yusuf Yusuf,” becoming the first Turkish jazz song.

Influential figures

A landmark concert at Kadıköy Halkevi in 1944, featuring Ilhan Mimaroğlu and his friends Erdem Buri, Fazıl Abrak and Necdet Alpün, received significant attention. Mimaroğlu, who also gained prominence as a producer, wrote Türkiye’s first jazz book in 1958 and worked as an art critic at the Voice of America radio.

On Sept. 6, 1948, saxophonist Nihat Esengün and pianist Tarık Bulut performed Turkish folk songs combined with Western music forms on the American WPIX radio station, an experiment later replicated in Türkiye. Jazz gained wider recognition beyond Istanbul through Voice of America radio broadcasts, which attracted significant interest among American officers stationed at U.S. bases in Türkiye during the 1940s and 1950s. Consequently, jazz enthusiasts began to emerge throughout the country.

Musicians such as Arif Mardin, Okay Temiz, Ismet Sıral, Nejat Cendeli and Emin Fındıkoğlu traveled abroad for jazz education. Arif Mardin’s compositions represent some of the first original jazz works in Türkiye. In the 1950s, bassist Cüneyt Sermet and saxophonist Ismet Sıral gained recognition with new ensembles. Süheyl Denizci and Erol Pekcan founded important jazz groups in Istanbul (1957) and Ankara (1958), respectively.

Performing Turkish melodies

One of the most influential figures in Turkish jazz, Ismet Sıral, developed a music philosophy centered on incorporating native melodies into jazz. His collaborations with Özdemir Erdoğan are particularly significant for performing Turkish melodies in jazz styles. In interviews, Sıral often expressed a desire “to play for listeners, not dancers.” A skilled saxophonist, flutist and ney (reed flute) player, Sıral once described himself as a mediator between traditional Turkish music and jazz, famously holding an Aşık Veysel album in one hand and a John Coltrane LP in the other.

Sıral aimed to establish an international music school in Marmaris, but tragically took his own life in 1987 after losing the land he had purchased due to various schemes.

Özdemir Erdoğan’s arrangements with Sıral and other musicians like Asım Ekren, Alaaddin Dal, Onno Tunç and Süheyl Denizci gained attention in the U.S. His “The Color of My Country in Jazz” series was praised on American radio and recordings made with fellow musicians were released in Türkiye in 1987. Another notable album, “Anadolu” (“Anatolia”) featuring compositions and arrangements by Aydın Esen, was released in the U.S. and later in Türkiye in 1994, blending traditional Anatolian music with jazz.

Okay Temiz, another pioneer, moved to Sweden in 1967 and founded the band Sevda with Muvaffak “Maffy” Falay in 1972, releasing five live albums. Temiz’s album Zikr (1979), featuring ney player Kutbay, holds a special place in Turkish jazz history as the ney was used in jazz for the first time. His group, Oriental Wind, attracted significant attention abroad, and his collaboration with Binali Selman, considered Türkiye’s best zurna (traditional reed instrument) player, resulted in acclaimed performances. Temiz initially gained recognition in Türkiye when TRT used his music as background for visuals during filler segments.

Fusion of Anatolian folk, jazz

Tülay German was a pivotal figure in popularizing jazz interpretations of Anatolian folk songs, reaching a serious audience in Türkiye. Her rendition of “Mecnunum Leylamı Gördüm” became widely popular, arranged in bebop style by Doruk Onatkut. She also recorded the folk song “Burçak Tarlası” from the Sivas, Tokat and Yozgat regions in 1964.

After the 1971 military memorandum, several musicians who performed jazz with native motifs emigrated abroad. Senem Diyici, based in France, brought together musicians from various countries to record the Ethno-Jazz album, an important contribution to Turkish jazz history. Drummer Durul Gence, who also played jazz with his own orchestra, was notable for his arrangement on “Şeyh Şamil.” Percussionist Burhan Öcal, who gained fame in Switzerland and released albums with what he called “touristic jazz,” is another example of jazz incorporating local motifs.

Other notable contemporary jazz musicians in Türkiye include Aydın Esen, Evrim Demirel, Erkan Oğur, Önder Focan, Kerem Görsev, Fatih Erkoç, Ilhan Erşahin, Iham Gencer, Genco Arı, Şevket Akıncı, Yahya Dai, Sarp Maden, Kamil Erdem and Yavuz Akyazıcı.

First Turkish jazz record

Türkiye’s first jazz record was “Jazz Semai,” released in 1978 by Tuna Ötenel, Erol Pekcan and Kudret Öztoprak. Inspired by Spanish jazz, Polish jazz and flamenco jazz LPs, they decided to create a “Turkish Jazz” album. Before recording, they had played together for six years at the Ankara Hotel. The album featured a jazz adaptation of the Bektaşi chant “Ali’yi Gördüm Ali’yi” and compositions by Tuna Ötenel. The title track “Jazz Semai” incorporates the Hicaz makam, one of the most frequently used modes in Turkish music, blending Sufi and traditional elements with jazz.

In the 1980s, jazz in Türkiye experienced a significant slowdown due to the country’s political climate, with few albums released. However, in 1982, the TRT Jazz Orchestra was established under Süheyl Denizci, gradually increasing the jazz audience with its limited repertoire.

Jazz festivals played a crucial role in boosting jazz culture. The Bilsak Jazz Festival (1985-1989), the Akbank International Jazz Festival (started in 1991) and the Istanbul Jazz Festival by IKSV (since 1994) attracted world-renowned jazz artists. Later, jazz festivals expanded beyond Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, with the Afyonkarahisar Jazz Festival becoming a prominent annual event.

Aside from a few live recordings for TRT and several key albums from the late 1970s, jazz album production in Tükiye became more consistent in the early 1990s. This decade marked unprecedented growth in local jazz production and interest.

Academic jazz education also developed, with Bilgi University’s Music Department opening in 1997 and Hacettepe University’s State Conservatory starting jazz education in 2010. Various private music schools also began offering jazz programs, laying a strong foundation for new generations of Turkish jazz musicians from the 2000s onward.