“Denizde Caz” (“Jazz at Sea”) concert series is coming to a close, and Ferit Odman Quartet’s performance on 3 September 2016 on a Saturday evening marked the one before the last concert on the boat. Jazz lovers know Odman’s bandmates from various other projects, including their personal ones. Engin Recepoğulları accompanied Odman on the drums, Ercüment Orkut on the keyboard (calling it keyboard due to the lack of a real piano on the stage), and Kağan Yıldız on the acoustic bass.
Photo: Ufuk Yüksel
We satiated ourselves with the beautiful sights and jazz on the excursion boat, which slowly moved away from its port at 9 in the evening. Actually, these kind of organisations carry the risk of being problematic, and not offer any kind of pleasure as it draws to an end. Of course, along with questions like ‘How will the sound be in open air, who will the audience consist of, etc.’ are accompanied by concerns about health and motion sickness. There is also the half-interesting and half-ironic weekend meetings of different cultures on the Bosphorus. Luckily, this didn’t become too big of a hinderance, except for a short clash of ‘Turkish Fantasy Music’. I can easily say that both the musicians and the audience was happy with the organisation. It was really pleasant to see people lining up for conversation and autographs after the concert. The unpleasant aspects were the high ticket prices and the disordered seating plan.
Photo: Ufuk Yüksel
Concert was arranged as two sets. We had a better time when we moved to the front during the second set, and seated ourselves right across the music. During this set, the band played Bemfsha Swing from the Monk classics, Benny Golson’s Stablemates, To Wisdom The Prize from Ferit Odman’s 2010 album Nommo, Take the Coltrane from Duke Ellington’s late period recordings, and East of the Sun (and West of the Moon) as the closing piece. We had a chance to breathe and be purified as we moved through the shaky waters of the Bosphorus and hard-bop.
Photo: Ufuk Yüksel
