Supporting art and artists since its establishment, the Akbank Jazz Festival, one of the longest-running cultural and artistic projects, is getting ready to meet jazz lovers for the 32nd time with its rich program that includes different rhythms and colors of jazz in Istanbul.

The festival that will kick off on Friday will host prominent representatives of jazz music such as Abdullah Ibrahim, Gonzalo Rubal-caba & Aymée Nuviola, Ravi Coltrane and Oded Tzur Quartet.

With its musical range that has expanded over the years, the Akbank Jazz Festival will blend classical and modern jazz as well as electronic music and world music projects, welcoming the Fall at different points of Istanbul with an ensemble that combines jazz music and different genres. For the anniversary of the 32nd year, this year's edition will feature 32 concerts including terrace concerts and dance events at 22 iconic venues with more than 120 musicians.

The Museum Gazhane, the historical Hasanpaşa Gazhanesi (gashouse) that was converted into a museum and cultural center will host the opening of the festival with the team of Barış Doğukan Yazıcı, Çağrı Sertel, Duru Tuna and Kuzey Yılmaz as part of Alp Ersönmez's "Cereyanlı" project.

Pointing out that Akbank has consistently brought the Jazz Festival together with art lovers for 32 years as Türkiye's one of the leading institutions in the culture and arts, Akbank General Manager Hakan Binbaşgil said: "It is a great source of pride for us to leave the name of Akbank in the history with such a universal music genre as jazz by organizing Türkiye's most rooted jazz festival."

"Akbank Jazz Festival, one of the first organizations that come to mind when we talk about jazz in Türkiye, not only hosted the world's most important jazz musicians but also contributed to introducing promising young artists to the music world. In light of all these achievements, our festival has been among the well-known events in the world of jazz," he added.

Akbank Sanat Manager Derya Bigalı pointed out that the Akbank Jazz Festival, a member of the European Jazz Festivals Association, has become a traditional festival followed with interest abroad. "We are proud to have a festival that has been supporting jazz in Türkiye for 32 years. The festival has hosted over 5,000 international and Turkish jazz artists to date and reached over 500,000 audiences with over 800 concerts to transfer jazz music culture to new generations," she added.

Aimed at expanding the outreach of jazz music to larger audiences, the festival also features three separate children's workshops at the Toy Museum to introduce children to jazz.