About Us

Bizim Caz (Our Jazz)

The Bizim Caz website is the primary output of the Turkish Jazz Archive project, which was initiated by Beran Paçacı in 2018. It began its publication life on June 20, 2024.

Levent Öget's book "Comprehensive Jazz Conversations with Levent Öget", which compiled his conversations with jazz workers from various fields in his programs on Open Radio, and Batu Akyol's book "Jazz is Very Hard", written about his documentary Jazz in Turkey, were the sources of inspiration for starting this project.

Beran Paçacı expresses the first idea that formed in his mind as follows: "I could see what was missing in the jazz field in Turkey. Archiving was not being done much, the necessary importance was not given to musicians/writers, there was a lack of communication between people, it was not very possible to see the general picture. For these reasons, I wanted to put my hand under the stone and start somewhere."

Beran Paçacı's dedicated work day and night for 6 years resulted in the creation of a comprehensive dataset that could be shared with the public.

At the end of 2023, with Sinan Uşşaklı's involvement in the project, an important step was taken towards the development of technical infrastructure. Sinan Uşşaklı contributed to many areas such as database design, software development, website setup and interface design in a short period of 6 months, making it possible to move the project to a digital platform. He also played an important role in issues such as establishing data structures in a flexible way and improving content quality.

We list who we received support from as consultants or in other ways in the project on the Thanks page.

This virtual platform tries to cover all activities done in the name of jazz music in Turkey. It is like a living organism; it is open to development! Deficiencies are remedied every day with the suggestions and contributions of volunteers.

Our goal is to create a comprehensive resource that will guide everyone interested in jazz music in Turkey. Our target audience includes listeners, musicians, organizers, managers, venue operators, radio broadcasters, educators, writers and researchers.

Comprehensive content is presented under the following headings on the Bizim Caz website:

1. Concerts
2. Musicians
3. Groups
4. Albums
5. Venues
6. Festivals
7. Events
8. Articles
9. Writers
10. Visual Artists
11. Education (Universities, Other Educational Institutions, Seminars, Theses, Jazz Camps)
12. Radio Programs (Radio Hosts, Radio Channels)
13. Radio Program Episodes (Online Episode Archive)
14. Books
15. Documentaries
16. Awards
17. Reports

JAZZ CONCERTS

We record and share jazz concert information (Date, Time, Venue, City, Festival, Concert Name, Performing Musicians) as far back as we can reach from the present to the past with great care on our website.

Accessing concert data is not easy at all, because in Turkey, there is generally no mentality of creating archives and taking notes for history. So how do we collect data from so many concerts? We scan venues' social media posts, review venues' archives with special permission, benefit from cultural supplements of old newspapers, research concert shares in Jazz Magazine issues published between 1996-2016, contact musicians and get information from them. There are also business owners, festival organizers and other jazz lovers who share files to support our project. Thanks to our work, some venues and festival organizers have started to provide complete lists of performing musicians in addition to just sharing concert names. If we can motivate others while doing this tremendous research, if we can contribute to the development of archiving, how happy we are!

What kind of experience do we offer on the "Concerts" page?

• Year Filter: You can list concerts of a specific year by selecting it. (1956-2024)
• Festival Filter: You can see all concerts featured in a specific festival by selecting it. Non-jazz concerts may also appear. The reason for this is that jazz concerts also include other music styles. In this archival work, we comprehensively record history.
• Venue Filter: You can list jazz concerts held at a specific venue.
• City Filter: You can list jazz concerts held in a specific city.
• Country Filter: You can list jazz concerts of foreign musician(s) from a specific country.
• Musician Filter: You can list jazz concerts of a specific musician by typing their name.
• Group Filter: You can list jazz concerts of a specific group by typing their name.

The following information is shared on the "Concert" detail page as obtained:

• Concert Name
• Group
• Festival
• Tags
• Organizer
• Contributor
• Sponsors
• Musicians

JAZZ MUSICIANS

We tried to create a comprehensive list by including foreign musicians who lived in Turkey for a period of time, along with mostly local musicians who perform jazz music in Turkey. It is very difficult to make a living solely by performing jazz music in Turkey. Therefore, jazz musicians work in other jobs, and sometimes they can turn to other music genres. On this page, we try to list musicians who remain as faithful as possible to jazz music and participate in as many jazz concerts as possible. Additionally, their participation in jazz albums can be a second criterion for inclusion in the list. If you see any errors, you can contact us and we will make the necessary update as soon as possible.

What kind of experience do we offer on the "Musicians" page?

• A-Z or Z-A Sorting by Musician's Name: Musicians are listed in alphabetical order.
• Gender Filter (All / Male / Female): A gender filter feature has been included as it may be subject to various research. This way, the abundance or scarcity of female musicians in a particular instrument can be observed.
• Instrument Filter (All / Piano / Bass / Drums / Vocals / Guitar / Saxophone / Trumpet / Trombone / Clarinet / Flute / Percussion / Others): You can filter and list musicians according to their main instruments.

The following information is shared on the "Musician" detail page as obtained:

• Musician Name
• Basic Information (Status, Place of Birth, Place of Residence, Main Instrument, Additional Instrument)
• Contact Information (Instagram, Website)
• Education Information (Education Received, Academia / Instructorship, Theses)
• Own Jazz Recordings
• Accompanied Jazz Recordings
• Some Jazz Festivals or Jazz Concert Series Attended
• Some Jazz Concerts Performed

JAZZ GROUPS

While collecting data on jazz concerts in Turkey, we found it appropriate to also include jazz groups formed during this time. On a Group's page, information such as the group's activity status, group members, group type, years of activity, and city are shared. Additionally, the group's concerts are listed. It is also possible to navigate to the Musicians page from the group members.

What kind of experience do we offer on the "Groups" page?

• A-Z or Z-A Sorting by Group Name: Groups are listed in alphabetical order.
• Group Type Filter (All / Duo / Trio / Quartet and More / Big Band): There can be a wide variety of jazz group forms. Thanks to this filter, groups of different sizes can be listed.
• Group Status Filter (All / Active / Passive)

The following information is shared on the "Group" detail page as obtained:

• Group Name
• Group Status (Active, Passive)
• Group Members
• Group Type (Duo / Trio / Quartet and More / Big Band)
• Year of Establishment
• Year of Disbandment
• City
• Group's Jazz Recordings
• Some of the Group's Jazz Concerts

JAZZ ALBUMS

Beran Paçacı started creating the Turkish Jazz Albums archive in late 2019. His goal was to create the most comprehensive list of jazz albums in Turkey. But besides that, he wanted to produce a quality work; that is, he had to present the most useful information about the albums. From all the musicians and their instruments on the album, to the list of tracks on the album, from the recording engineers to the composers and lyricists... In early 2020, his path crossed with Feridun Ertaşkan, the founder and general editor of the Cazkolik website. As of 07.05.2020, there was a section called Turkish Jazz Albums on the Cazkolik site and there were 145 albums exhibited there. Beran Paçacı started to be the editor of that page and in 3 years he entered the information of more than a thousand albums on the page. As of 2024, he continues his work of keeping the album archive on the Bizim Caz page. You can appreciate that it is a very laborious job to research and find albums, record their information in detail, obtain the album cover and present it on the page. In addition, it is a job in itself that the albums to be selected must pass through certain criteria filters and be suitable for the album archive. A serious amount of time needs to be spent on these. If you see any mistakes or deficiencies, you can let us know and we can make the necessary review and update as soon as possible.

On the albums page, we tried to be as inclusive as possible. In addition to local musicians born in Turkey, we also include albums by foreign musicians who have settled in Turkey for a certain period of time. We also launch it as Turkish Jazz Albums to show that we also include foreign musicians or musicians from different ethnic backgrounds. We provide richness in the archive by presenting different styles/colors within jazz music (Swing, Bebop, Hard Bop, Cool Jazz, Modern Jazz, Free Jazz, Fusion, Latin Jazz) together. Of course, there will be bad examples as well as good ones. There are liked and disliked trials. We present them without elimination so that we can present as complete a resource as possible for researchers. Maybe in the future we will provide another filter opportunity, so that we can offer the chance to list by eliminating those that contain less jazz or are closer to other music genres; thus, a stricter jazz content will also be available to those who want it.

What kind of experience do we offer on the "Albums" page?

• A-Z or Z-A Sorting by Album Name: Albums are listed in alphabetical order.
• Ascending or Descending Sorting by Album Release Year: Albums are listed by release year.
• A-Z or Z-A Sorting by Album Owner's Name: The album is listed in alphabetical order of the name of the person(s) in whose name it was released.
• Album Type Filter (All / Album / EP / Single / Vinyl): When albums were released, they used to have 5-10 tracks. But nowadays, they are also released as Single and as EP with 3-4 tracks. Thanks to this filter, you will be able to see these different types of albums. We also thought of those who are curious about albums released as Vinyl.
• Year Filter: You can list albums released in a specific year. (1959-2025)
• Producer Company Filter

JAZZ VENUES

While adding jazz concerts and especially jazz festivals to the archive, the venues where these events were held also emerged. Over 900 various venues have hosted jazz music, but when we needed to list the performance areas most focused on jazz music, our main criteria were the importance they give to jazz music in their programs and the regular occurrence of jazz concerts.

What kind of experience do we offer on the "Venues" page?

• A-Z or Z-A Sorting by Venue Name: Venues are listed in alphabetical order.
• Ascending or Descending Sorting by Number of Concerts: Venues are listed by the number of jazz concerts.
• City Filter (All / Istanbul / Ankara / Izmir / Antalya / Eskisehir / Kirklareli / Mugla): Only jazz performance venues in the selected city are listed.
• Venue Status Filter (All / Open / Closed): Only closed venues or only open venues are listed thanks to this filter.

The following information is shared on the "Venue" detail page as obtained:

• Venue Name
• Status: Open / Closed / No Longer Hosting Jazz Performances
• Type: Jazz Club / Concert Hall / Culture/Art Center / Art Gallery / etc.
• City: Istanbul / Ankara / Izmir / Antalya / Eskisehir / Kirklareli / Mugla
• Date of Establishment: The opening date of the venue is shared in dd/mm/yyyy format.
• Capacity
• Owner
• Address
• Phone
• Web Page
• Facebook Page
• Instagram Page
• Venue Images (in Gallery format)
• Concerts Held at the Venue

JAZZ FESTIVALS

There are 5-6 well-established jazz festivals in Turkey. Besides them, there are also younger jazz festivals that are promising and have been made sustainable. But unfortunately, there are also many jazz festivals that could not be continued. In this section, we try to collect information on all jazz festivals that have been held and will be held so far. The festival status (Active, Ended), how many times it has been organized, its start year, end year (if ended), organization time (in which month/months it is organized), the city/town where it is organized, the person/organization that organizes it, the organizer person/organization, the contributing organization(s), the main sponsors, the jazz network it is a member of (European Jazz Network, Turkish Jazz Network, etc.), the festival network page link, and a short introductory text about the festival are shared.

What kind of experience do we offer on the "Festivals" page?

• Festival Status Filter (Active / Ended): Festivals are filtered according to their open status, and those in the desired status are listed.

The following information is shared on the "Festival" detail page as obtained:

• Festival Name
• Festival Type (Jazz Festival, Concert Series, Music Festival, etc.)
• Status (Active / Ended)
• Start Year
• End Year (If ended)
• Organization Time (In which month/months it is organized)
• City
• Organizer
• Promoter
• Main Sponsor
• Member Jazz Network (If any)
• Website

JAZZ EVENTS

A wide variety of jazz music-related events, especially those that take place as part of festivals, are listed on this page.

What kind of experience do we offer on the "Events" page?

• Event Type Filter (All / Interview / Panel / Recital / Film Screening / Award Ceremony / Plaque Ceremony / Photography Exhibition / Poster Design Exhibition / Painting Exhibition / Dance / Meditation / Sound Therapy / Body Music / Photography Workshop): By selecting a specific event type, only those are listed.
• City Filter (All / Istanbul / Ankara / Izmir / Afyonkarahisar / Antalya / Balikesir / Canakkale / Eskisehir / Mugla / Nevsehir): Only jazz events in the selected city are listed.

The following information is shared on the "Event" detail page as obtained:

• Event Name
• Venue/Platform
• Date and Time
• Event Topic
• Prepared by
• Festival
• City
• Town
• Organizer
• Promoter
• Contributor
• Sponsors
• Link
• Tags

JAZZ ARTICLES

A list of articles presented from various media or still being presented is provided. By clicking on the link, you can reach the page of that article. If it is a printed publication, unfortunately, there is no possibility to access the article.

What kind of experience do we offer on the "Articles" page?

• Search: A search option is provided in the article title and tags.
• Publication Medium Filter (All / Cazkolik (Web) / Dark Blue Notes (Web) / Jazz Magazine (Print) / Jazz Magazine (Web) / Loft Jazz Culture Newspaper (Print)): By selecting a specific publication medium, only articles belonging to it can be listed.

JAZZ WRITERS

We have writers who have written regularly or are currently writing in various media environments specifically on jazz music. They present articles in printed publications such as Jazz Magazine (published every 3 months between 1996-2016), web-based Jazz Magazine, web-based Dark Blue Notes, web-based Cazkolik, printed publications such as Loft Jazz Culture Newspaper and other media that occasionally present jazz news.

What kind of experience do we offer on the "Writers" page?

• The Author's Name and the Media they write for are listed.
• Media Filter (All / Cazkolik (Web) / Dark Blue Notes (Web) / Jazz Magazine (Print) / Jazz Magazine (Web) / Loft Jazz Culture Newspaper (Print))

The following information is shared on the "Writer" detail page as obtained:

• Writer's Name
• Media the Writer Writes For
• About
• Writer's Articles

JAZZ VISUAL ARTISTS

We have local photography artists who immortalize the special moments in jazz events in Turkey. They also have a great contribution to the promotion of jazz music. Especially with the photos they take at concerts, we can remember those days again. They create a historical document.

In addition to photographers, painters and sculptors are also included on this page. If you know other artists who create works related to jazz music, please let us know and we will be happy to include them on the page.

What kind of experience do we offer on the "Visual Artists" page?

• Photographers, painters and sculptors who create works related to jazz music are listed in alphabetical order with their profile photos.
• When you go to the detail page, information about the artist, their social media accounts and various examples of their works are displayed.

JAZZ EDUCATION

The subject of education on jazz is gathered under 4 headings:

• Educational Institutions and Academics
• Academic Theses
• Seminars
• Jazz Camp

What kind of experience do we offer on the "Education" page?

• Page Filter: Content is presented on 4 different pages (Educational Institutions and Academics, Seminars, Academic Theses, Jazz Camp).
• Educational Institutions and Academics: Academics in institutions offering jazz education are listed with various information.
• Seminars: Seminars and workshops, especially those presented at festivals, are listed.
• Academic Theses: Theses on jazz music prepared by students in master's and doctoral programs of universities are presented with their details. There is also a download option.
• Jazz Camps: In the jazz camp organized every year, jazz musicians contribute to the development of young people by conducting workshops with them.

JAZZ RADIO PROGRAMS LIST

On this page, we feature jazz radio programs. For now, the radio stations on the list, in descending order of the number of jazz radio programs, are TRT Radio 3, Joy Jazz Radio, Radyo Cazkolik, Açık Radyo, NTV Radyo, ITU Radio, Radyo ODTU, Vestel PSM Radyo, Borusan Klasik, ODTU Caz Spotify Podcast, İş Sanat Spotify Podcast and Radyo Gerçek.

What kind of experience do we offer on the "Radio Programs" page?

• Radio Station Filter: By selecting a specific radio station, only the jazz programs on that radio are listed.

The following information is shared on the "Radio Program" detail page as obtained:

• Radio Station
• Program Name
• Prepared / Presented by
• Status
• Broadcast Years
• Day
• Broadcast Time
• Topic

RADIO PROGRAM EPISODES

Some previously broadcast jazz radio programs can be listened to on the internet later. On this page, selections from these jazz radio programs from different radio platforms are presented.

What kind of experience do we offer on the "Radio Program Episodes" page?

• Radio Platform Filter: By selecting a specific radio station, only the jazz program episodes on that radio are listed.
• Prepared by/Presented by Filter: By selecting a specific radio host, only that radio host's jazz program episodes are listed.
• Radio Program Filter: By selecting a specific radio program, only the episodes of that radio program are listed.

The following information is shared on the "Radio Program Episodes" detail page as obtained:

• Link
• Date
• Radio Platform
• Prepared by/Presented by
• Radio Program
• Program Title
• Program Format

JAZZ BOOKS

On this page, Turkish jazz books, jazz books translated into Turkish and English jazz books are listed.

The following information is shared on the "Book" detail page as obtained:

• Book Name
• Author
• Publisher
• Type
• Number of Pages
• About

JAZZ DOCUMENTARIES

Documentaries about jazz music shot by directors in Turkey are featured.

The following information is shared on the "Documentary" detail page as obtained:

• Documentary Name
• Director
• Production Year
• Duration (min)
• Genre
• About
• Featured Musicians
• Other People Featured
• IMDB Link

JAZZ AWARDS

On this page, awards related to jazz music presented by various institutions and venues are listed by year on separate pages.

• Istanbul Jazz Festival Lifetime Achievement Award
• İKSV Young Jazz
• Nardis Young Jazz Vocal Competition
• JAmZZ Akbank Jazz Festival Young Talents Competition

REPORTS

On this page, reports containing various statistics are presented.

• Number of Jazz Albums from Turkey (2001-2025)
• Number of Jazz Concerts of Istanbul Jazz Performance Venues (2016-2025)
• Number of Jazz Concerts of Ankara Jazz Performance Venues (2016-2025)
• Annual performance statistics of musicians

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