Bilge Günaydın Quintet
“Turkish pianist, keyboard player, composer and arranger Bilge Günaydın showcases her talents on Daydreams, her debut release. It is an impressive first outing for the young musician— stylistically wide-ranging, moving from laid-back melody to drama and mystery, and beautifully performed by the musicians.”
Bruce Lindsay – All About Jazz “The main reason is the evocative pulling-power of Bilge’s compositions. They charm the listener with quirky harmonic turns, melodic imagination and variety in the arrangements.”
Francesco Martinelli – All About Jazz
As a distinguished jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader, Bilge Günaydın holds a Master of Music degree in jazz composition from William Paterson University, where she earned a full scholarship and studied with renowned musicians such as Bill Charlap, Pete McGuinness, Steve Nelson, Ed Neumeister, and many others. Bilge Günaydın is also a member of BMI Jazz Composers Workshop in New York and US based ISJAC (International Society of Jazz Composers) and actively continues to collaborate with these organizations on big band and orchestral music projects. The artist has collaborated with orchestras such as the BMI Jazz Orchestra, One More Once Big Band, and Twin Cities Jazz Composers Orchestra, with her Works performed by these big bands. In 2020, her debut album “Daydreams” was released by Turkish
label Ada Music and Japanese label Inpartmaint by receiving acclaim from international jazz magazine “All About Jazz” as “an impressive first outing with charming compositions and melodic imagination.” Her second album “Sketches of Green” with guitarist Cenk Erdoğan and bass player Ozan Musluoğlu followed in 2022, released by Drom NYC and Innsbruck Records NYC. Günaydın’s projects in small and large ensemble settings have been featured at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Flushing Town Hall NYC, Drom NYC, Shea Performing Arts Center NJ, Rockwood Music Hall NYC, Anatolian Artists Festival in NYC, Istanbul International Jazz Festival, Akbank Jazz Festival, “Composers Now” Festival in NYC, Nardis Jazz Club in Istanbul, Sibiu Jazz Festival in Romania and many more. Bilge Günaydın continues her performances,
featuring distinguished musicians, showcasing her music that blends modern and classical influences within the jazz genre and draws inspiration from Turkey’s rich cultural mosaic and Turkish music.
