BAŞAK YAVUZ
"Packed with creative stuff throughout."
Aydın Esen
"This is truly very original music."
Dave Liebman
"From modern jazz to minimalism, from blues and world music to chromatic harmony, her music is eclectic, heartfelt, and has the just the right amount of biting honesty. Her songwriting covers the full range of human experience; it can be fragile or aggressive, beautifully simple or deceptively complex, and always tells a compelling story. "
Dr. Başak Yavuz is one of the leading jazz figures from Turkey. The international projects she has developed and performed are illustrations of cross-cultural exchange and communication. After winning the Nardis Jazz Vocal Competition in 2008, she moved to New York and earned a Master of Music degree from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music in 2012. She completed her doctoral studies with her dissertation entitled: "The Impact of Twentieth Century Music Theory on John Coltrane's Performances and Compositions."
She has performed her own music in Turkey, the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Her debut album, "things" features jazz legends such as Dave Liebman and Peter Eldridge, along with other respected musicians.
Başak has taught at Bahcesehir and Bilgi Universities in Istanbul. She founded the only singer-songwriter collective in Turkey: "Bi' Şarkım Var! (I have a song)". She also hosted two radio shows at Acik Radio, "Dunyanin Cazi (Jazz of the World)" and "Bi' Şarkim var!".
Başak has started her own record label and has a substantial catalog of releases, including her second album, "a little red bug," and her singles "Muhip Bey" and "Her Şey Yolunda." She has recently finished the recordings of her upcoming album in Berlin.
She took part in various albums as a vocalist, songwriter, producer, arranger, vocal coach, and songwriting coach. Başak is one of the members of the Istanbul Composers Orchestra.