Frontman Ilhan Ersahin is one of those rare moguls of the New York City underground scene via his club and record label, Nublu, and he’s spread his New York energy throughout the world. It’s possible to see him jamming with The Red Hot Chili Peppers in Sao Paolo, or featuring Bugge Wesseltoft in Blue Note Tokyo or playing a beautiful oriental set with Turkish gypsies in an elegant concert hall somewhere in Europe.

Since 2008 they have set fire to stages all across the world : from New York to Istanbul, from Paris to Sao Paolo, from London to Skopje.. Their electrifying, genre-crossing performance posed questions: Is this really jazz Doesn’t this sound like a rock band? Where does their sound come from? It’s master-level musicianship meeting high eclecticism where the cliché of “east-to-west crossover” finds it’s true sense and power. A session is a meeting of a deliberative body to conduct its business. In this case, the business is music, and the music is another heavyweight offering from Ilhan and his crew. Above all, the Istanbul Sessions can aptly be described as cinematic.

Line up

Ilhan Erşahin (Tenor Saxophone)

Alp Ersönmez (Bass)

Turgut Alp Bekoğlu (Drums)

Izzet Kizil (Percussion)

Opening the evening is Zag Erlat (My Analog Journal). My Analog Journal (MAJ) is a YouTube channel that curates vinyl-only mixes, focusing on diverse genres, countries, regions, eras, and themes. Founded in late 2017 by Istanbul-born, London-based music producer, filmmaker, record collector, and DJ, Zag Erlat, the channel has garnered a substantial following for its eclectic selections and engaging presentations.

The inception of MAJ was inspired by Erlat’s passion for Turkish psychedelic rock from the 1970s. He began by sharing his collection of Turkish records, aiming to fill a gap in online content for this genre. The positive reception encouraged him to expand his repertoire, exploring and sharing music from various cultures and eras.