In the works of Turkish pianist and composer Aydın Esen, we are confronted with no less than a pathbreaking investigation of a new aesthetic form, one which identifies the full range of human intellectual and emotional activity as the seedbed of musical art. Since the early 70's from the conservatory years, through a lifetime of relentless exploration, he has offered his own sophisticated non-formulative but extreme-moment-to-moment-precise music that belongs to no system or groups, creating a new step in musical history.

 

Aydin Esen was born in Istanbul in 1962. He took his first piano lessons from his father, who was an accomplished trumpet player and he played in his father′s band when he was very young. After graduating from the Istanbul Conservatory in 1980 with the First Prize in piano and composition, Esen was invited to Oslo for further studies in piano, composition and conducting at the Norwegian State Academy of Music. In 1983, he received an invitation from Gary Burton and Steve Swallow of Berklee College of Music and travelled to the USA.

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He graduated from Berklee in one year and was awarded a special Artist′s Diploma by the great Oscar Peterson for his achievement. He also went on to complete a Master’s Degree at the New England Conservatory. In 1989, Esen received the First Prize at the International Piano Competition in Paris and for the 1998 Piano Competition, he was invited as a member of the jury.

 

Both during and since his Boston days, he has recorded albums and performed with some of the greatest contemporary jazz artists of this era, including Eddie Gomez, George Garzone, Steve Smith, Miroslav Vitous, Dave Liebman, and many more. His discography (below) includes releases by JazzCity, Columbia, and Sony Records. Currently, Esen is a guest professor at Jazzcampus - the Musical Academy of Basel and he continues to tour, performing and conducting workshops on contemporary music. 

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Discography:

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Esen/Gomez/Pellitteri (1985) - Projazz

Aydin Esen (1989) - JMS

So Many Lifetimes (1988) - JMS

Pictures (1989) Japan - Bellaphon / Jazz City

Anadolu (1992) - Columbia

Radio Edits (1992) - Columbia

Timescape (1999) - Doublemoon

Living (2001) - Universal, EmArcy

Flashpoint (2005) - Mascot Records

Dialogo (2005) - Material Records

Light Years (2006) - Extinction

Extinction (2006) - Extinction

Toys for All Gods (2013) - Aydin Esen

Fly (2020) - Esen Productions