The 28th Ankara Jazz Festival, organized by the Jazz Association with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, continued with events organized by the Turkish American Association (TAA).
The third day of the festival, which was organized with the theme of “Jazz Energy” this year and will bring together many jazz artists with the people of Ankara in different venues until November 30, witnessed colorful events.
The event, which started with the thank you speech of Özlem Oktar Varoğlu, the President of the Jazz Association and the curator of the festival, was held in the halls of the Turkish American Association (TAA) with the intense participation of art lovers.
Melih Özbek attended the night, which started with the opening of photographer Aykut Ulustekin’s Photography Exhibition on ‘Jazz Energy’, with a conversation on ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) Effect in Jazz Photography’. ‘Bora Çeliker Trio’ took the stage at the concert event.
THE FESTIVAL DOES NOT HAVE A PERMANENT SPONSOR
Making evaluations on the Ankara Net Haber website, Founding Member of the Jazz Association, Lütfi Varoğlu, said that the 28th Ankara Jazz Festival was held this year. Stating that next year will be the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Jazz Association, Varoğlu said, “We couldn’t do it one year. There will be approximately 1000 concerts in total. Many events have been held since its establishment. The Jazz Association first started as METU Jazz Days, we started with a few very small concerts. Essentially, we set out here so that students could listen to better music. As a non-governmental organization in Ankara, we organize events in the field of music. We started by saying, ‘What kind of service can we provide to Ankara together with other festival organizations?’ It later grew into a slightly larger organization. A thematic festival is held every year. This year it was organized under the name ‘Jazz Energy’, and it is being worked on all year round.” he said.
Pointing out that the Ankara Jazz Festival does not have a permanent sponsor, Varoğlu said, “For this reason, the festival is held with difficulties. Thanks to ticket revenues and supporters, the Ministry of Culture provides constant support. We have some other organizations, the Turkish American Association (TAA) has support. It receives support through Renault-MAİS. However, unfortunately, it does not have a permanent sponsor like the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV). But we also learned to do it with these difficulties, let’s put it that way. Even student scholarships etc. We also take it out. “We are trying to support young friends who go abroad from Turkiye as much as we can.” he said.
Stating that the Jazz Association organizes many other events such as ‘Jazz in the Museum’, Varoğlu continued his words as follows:
OUR MISSION IS TO SUPPORT YOUNG MUSICIANS
“Actually, they are trying to be a multi-dimensional NGO, focusing on music and jazz. At the beginning, we thought that we would create more opportunities for Turkish jazz musicians and provide them with an environment for concerts. At that time, in the early 90s, jazz music was not so popular. Now that part of the mission is actually completed. Nowadays, jazz is listened to, known and recognized everywhere. But our current mission is to support young musicians and ensure their continuity. In this sense, very important capabilities emerge from Ankara. But most of them go to Istanbul, most of them go abroad, things we know. We continue the festival so that the people of Ankara can continue to listen to good music.”
Lütfi Varoğlu, the founding member of the association, also made a statement regarding the establishment of the Jazz Association and said, “The Jazz Association started with important press figures of Ankara. Such as Sedat Ergin, Çiğdem Toker, Fatih Çekirge, Ece Temelkuran, these are the founding members. Of course, there are also musicians. In fact, we initially thought of it as a ‘Jazz Musicians Union’, but that did not happen. There were similar attempts in Istanbul, but they did not work either. It seems like we have done a little better at associationism. From here, we supported Afyon, Izmir and other cities. We also formed an association with them.” he said.
WE ARE PROCEEDING TOWARD BECOMING THE ‘TURKISH JAZZ ASSOCIATION’
Stating that they are now trying to obtain Public Benefit Association status, Lütfi Varoğlu concluded his speech as follows:
We made our application regarding it. For this, special permission is required from the Presidency and it must be with the support of the Ministry of Culture. Of course they know, they are aware that we are an association beneficial to the public. Everything is very clear, the book, the notebook, everything is clear. 28 years is long enough. I hope it comes out soon. Then we will be the ‘Turkish Jazz Association’. But we will try to continue the ‘Ankara Jazz Festival’ as much as we can, it seems.” (source:ankaranethaber.com)
