Marcus Miller to thrill jazz lovers in İstanbul

In “The İstanbul Project,” Miller has teamed up with a group of hand-picked Turkish talents ranging from no-frills, 73-year-old creative mastermind Okay Temiz to fresh-faced guitar whizz Bilal Karaman.

Along with Temiz and Karaman, “The İstanbul Project” will present clarinet virtuoso Hüsnü Şenlendirici, percussion maestro Burhan Öcal and jazz trumpeter İmer Demirer. Drummer Louis Cato, saxophonist Alex Han and keyboardist Federico Gonzalez Pena complete a formidable jazz lineup.

“Fun is going to be the primary word for this project. ... I have played in many countries across the world and even if you don’t speak the same language, music allows audiences and musicians to communicate. I am a great believer in the power of music to do what words can’t,” Miller said.

Having first performed in İstanbul in the 1990s, Miller has become a familiar face in Turkey. Last summer, the multi-award winning artist, along with jazz buddies Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, chose İstanbul as the starting point for a world tour paying homage to the 20th anniversary of the death of the great jazz musician Miles Davis.