Elif Çağlar

Biography
Articles

"...a wonderful singer with a great talent and will be a real winner in the world of Jazz" Sheila Jordan

"Some wonderful arrangements...What I like most about the recording is the sound of Elif's voice. She is articulate and doesn't seem to be afraid of going places" Lawrence "Butch" Morris

Born in 1980, Elif Çağlar studied Jazz Composition at Istanbul Bilgi University. She released an album with her "Roxy Music Days" winner band "Bagdat Avenue" named "1-10". In 2006, she went to New York to get her Master's Degree in Jazz Performance in Queens College, The Aaron Copland School of Music where she studied with the legendary jazz vocalist Sheila Jordan and became the first Turk to graduate from the program with an award. Çağlar appeared at many prestigious festivals including International Istanbul Jazz Festival, 22. Akbank Jazz Festival, 38.Bratislava Jazz Days, 3. Pristina Jazz Festival, 2012 One Love Festival, Cuny Bigband Festival, 2013 Luxembourg Autumn Leaves Jazz Festival, 24. Blues Festival (Turkey) Her first cd "M-U-S-I-C" by Nu-Dc Records is a first in Turkish music history, with all original compositions ( in English) and arrangements written by a female jazz vocalist. In November 2013, Çağlar was also featured in "Blue ile Birlikte Hayata/ With Blues to Life" album along with Chicago's blues masters Jimmy Burns and Katherine Davis. Her 2nd album "Misfit" features Aaron Parks, Harish Raghavan and Eric Harland.

Awards

"The Best Jazz Musician" , Radyo Boğaziçi Music Awards (2014) "Claire Bennett Moringiello '72" Award, Queens College (2006) "The Best Band" & "The Best Performance", Roxy Music Days (2000, with band "Bagdat Avenue")

Elif Çağlar: Misfit

by Dan Bilawsky
November 19, 2015

Elif Çağlar sure knows how to put together a band. For her sophomore release, this Istanbul-based vocalist--a former pupil of Sheila Jordan--enlisted three modernist luminaries to help light the way: drummer Eric Harland brings his usual rhythmic ingenuity, energy, and play-for-the-song perspective to the production; bassist Harish Raghavan--Harland's bassist of choice for his own Voyager project--is locked in from the get-go, helping the music to pivot, shift, and groove as needed; and pianist Aaron Park--Harland's band mate in the collective ...