Akbank Jazz Festival: İlham Gencer, Bir Yaşayan Çınar at Pera Palace Hotel Jumeirah

The Grand Pera Ballroom, which hosted unforgettable balls and concerts throughout its more than 120-year history, now celebrates the 90th birthday of maestro jazz pianist İlham Gencer. İlham Gencer, thanks to his natural talent, wrote his first composition at the age of 5. During the 1940s he formed the first local jazz band of the period; a trio of piano, clarinet and voice. Starting from the 1960s, he hosted radio programmes on Istanbul Radio for 14 years. The “Çatı Kulübü” (Roof Club), which he opened in Şişli, was, with his own words, “some sort of a private Turkish conservatory”...

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The Grand Pera Ballroom, which hosted unforgettable balls and concerts throughout its more than 120-year history, now celebrates the 90th birthday of maestro jazz pianist İlham Gencer. İlham Gencer, thanks to his natural talent, wrote his first composition at the age of 5. During the 1940s he formed the first local jazz band of the period; a trio of piano, clarinet and voice. Starting from the 1960s, he hosted radio programmes on Istanbul Radio for 14 years. The “Çatı Kulübü” (Roof Club), which he opened in Şişli, was, with his own words, “some sort of a private Turkish conservatory”. Here, he introduced many singers to the music industry, including Ajda Pekkan, Cem Karaca, Füsun Önal and Emel Sayın. He describes his love for music as “How wonderful music is! I want to make music until I die and that’s why I don't want to die!”.

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