Jazz across the water: Sister festivals in Greek island of Rhodes and Bodrum

RHODES – The Rhodes International Jazz Festival on the Greek island of Rhodes and the Bodrum Jazz Festival in Turkey, have announced a collaboration as sister festivals.

Bodrum and Rhodes are only 60 miles (96 kilometers) apart, the journey by ferry boat takes about two and a half hours. Both have an active and international yachting culture and attract tourists from all over the world.

Ozlem Oktar Varoglu, the Founder, and Tugce Alpaslan, the Director of the Ankara and Bodrum Jazz Festivals, reached out to Dimitrios Vassilakis Founder and Artistic Director of the Rhodes International Jazz Festival to work together in bringing Greek jazz musicians to perform in Turkey and Turkish jazz musicians to perform in Greece.

Jazz is a truly an international language and for musicians from one country to perform in a neighboring country reinforces the premise that we have much in common. This collaboration can expand the horizons of musicians in both countries, promote them internationally and help them engage in educational activities, open discussions, and forums.

The Rhodes International Jazz Festival takes place at the Palace of the Knights August 28-30.

Opening the festival in the Palace Courtyard on August 28 is the Turkish group Ayhan Sicimoglu & Latin All Stars with special guest Orhan Osman.

The Greek performers at the festival are the Manos Saridakis trio, the Dimitri Vassilakis Quartet, and an ensemble of young musicians from Rhodes.

In addition, a quartet headed by English saxophonist Andy Sheppard will perform on the closing night, August 30 in the Moat Theater of the Palace of the Knights.

The festival has the support of the Municipality of Rhodes, the Prefecture of the South Aegean, and is under the auspices of the Greek Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Culture, and Tourism.

Admission is free, seating on a first-come, first-serve basis. Venues open at 8 PM. More information is available online: http://www.rhodes-international-jazz-festival.com/.

The Bodrum Festival takes place September 1-9 with the theme of Ethnic Jazz. The Dimitri Vassilakis Quartet will perform on September 2 presenting Vassilakis’ award-winning Daedalus Project – Labyrinth album. Vassilakis will also conduct several workshops and master classes.

For more information on Vassilakis is available on his website: http://www.dimitriosvassilakis.com/.

More information about the Bodrum Jazz Festival is available online: www.bodrumcazfest.org.

Read more at thenationalherald.com

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Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons License: CC-BY-SA Copyright: Zamonin