Ilhan Ersahin’s Istanbul Sessions

ILHAN ERSAHIN’S
ISTANBUL SESSIONS
'Solar Plexus'

Produced by multi-instrumentalist Dave Harrington - known for his work with the experimental group Darkside - the fourth installment of Ersahin’s Istanbul Sessions series features the saxophonist - who also lends his talents on rhodes and synths - alongside Alp Ersönmez (bass), Izzet Kizil (percussion), Turgut Alp Bekoglu (drums) with special guests Arto Tuncboyaciyan (percussion), Nils-Petter Molvær (trumpet), Mauro Refosco (percussion), Kenny Wollesen (drums), Erik Truffaz (trumpet) and Brandon Lewis (drums). Solar Plexus takes 21st century music, envisions it from a fresh perspective,  re-imagines it, and presents a new and innovative sound that is boundless and limitless.

Inspired by the likes of 2001: A Space Odyssey and the original Blade Runner, the cinematic music heard on Solar Plexus collectively amounts to a movie for the mind; the listener’s ears are the screen upon which (or into which) it’s eclectic, dynamic sonic landscape is being projected. Despite its bold creativitiy and daring nature, Solar Plexus manages to retain a strong sense of accessibility and engagement. This 10 track collection takes its listeners on a trip to the sun without ever leaving Earth!

Since 2008, this group has ignited stages all across the world: from New York to Istanbul, from Paris to Sao Paolo, from London to Skopje. The master-level musicianship of their electrifying performances alongside the high eclecticism of the music provides true sense and power to the clichéd  “east-to-west crossover”. Simultaneously, the Istanbul Sessions has consistently offered its listeners the “music of now”.

Frontman Ilhan Ersahin is one of those rare moguls of the New York City underground scene, known for his club and record label, Nublu. He has 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 with Bugge Wesseltoft in Blue Note Tokyo or playing a beautiful oriental set with Turkish gypsies in an elegant concert hall somewhere in Europe. Growing up in Stockholm of a Swedish mother and Turkish father, Ersahin was steeped early on in the records his older siblings would bring home. He soaked up the sounds of the era from popular bands like Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones, and the more heady compositions of Miles Davis, various Brazilian artists of the time, and select music from his father’s homeland. In his teens Ersahin discovered the worlds of ska, funk, punk and reggae on his own and eventually picked up a sax to begin a journey that would lead him deep into the realms of jazz greats like John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Davis. Moving to New York’s East Village in the early 90s - a place that had always called him - he took a job at the famous Sweet Basil Jazz Club and immersed himself in the thriving scene of the time, playing gigs and gaining the esteem of his peers. In 1998, upon developing a new love for bands like Massive Attack and Portishead, he formed Wax Poetic. This new and innovative project incorporated spoken word, a DJ, and electronic elements, while simultaneously building upon Ersahin’s jazz instincts and included a young Norah Jones on vocals.

Ersahin’s renowned club, Nublu has become a Mecca in its own right, attracting musicians who have recorded and toured with the likes of Herbie Hancock, David Byrne, Sun Ra, Beck, John Zorn, and Tom Waits. It has spawned its own record label, and multiple projects, such as Love Trio, Nublu Orchestra (conducted by Butch Morris), I Led 3 Lives and Our Theory. The late-night impromptu jam sessions and various projects that have emerged from the small club on Avenue C have come to be known as the “Nublu Sound”, a sound very much intertwined with the goals Ersahin has been pursuing throughout his career. Projects overseas such as Ersahin’s Wonderland, Afternoon in Rio and the Nublu Jazz Festival in Sao Paolo, Istanbul, and New York only serve to cement Ersahin’s reputation as an innovator and pioneer in so many corners of the globe.

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