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Emre Kartari

Emre Kartari is an Adjunct Instructor of Jazz at VCU, JMU and Longwood University, where he teaches Small Jazz Ensemble, Jazz History, and Drum-set.

Born into a family of musicians and artists in Ankara, Turkey, Emre moved to the United States when he was nine years old. Soon after, he began to study drums, which led to studying jazz percussion with T. Howard Curtis and receiving his Bachelor’s degree from VCU. He holds an M.A. in jazz performance and composition from New York University and received the Barney Josephson Award in 2003.

While in New York, Emre studied with Adam Nussbaum, John Riley, Tony Moreno, Billy Hart, and Jamey Haddad.

He has performed and recorded with David Liebman, Darius Jones, Trevor Dunn, Paul Pieper, John D’earth, Howard Curtis, Mike Richmond, Justin Kauflin, Chris Brydge, Paul Langosch, Chris Whiteman, Royce Cambell, and Houston Person, among others.

As an educator, Kartari worked with the New York Pops Mentors in Music program from 2003 until 2005. In 2009, with the support of the American Embassy in Turkey, he formed Ankara State Conservatory’s jazz degree program. In 2011 he became the Director of Jazz Studies at Yasar University in Izmir, Turkey, directing the VCU Izmir International Jazz Camp in 2012 and 2013. He formed the group “Sazli-Cazli,” featuring VCU alumni Taylor Barnett and Kevin Simpson, to perform along with Turkish musicians for state-sponsored tours in Turkey in 2015 and 2016.

Emre has completed his Doctoral Studies from Yasar University, in Izmir Turkey, in 2019.


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4
Album Review

Liz Terrell: It's All Right With Me

Read "It's All Right With Me" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


When Liz Terrell sings something, you believe it. Adding her own strength of expression to every piece she touches, communicating with absolute earnestness, and offering a sound all her own, she makes every melody and musical gesture matter. On this, her debut album, Terrell puts her powerful pipes to great use on an incredibly diverse collection of songs that highlight broad interests and influences. And with a solid band behind her, everything lands as it should. Opening ...

14
Album Review

Left of Center: Crossing the Water

Read "Crossing the Water" reviewed by Nicholas F. Mondello


Whether the title of this album, the performing group's name, or its leader's surname have additional meaning is positively irrelevant because this performance is a winner. It is a bassist-led trio album offering engaging sonic textures which spin and entice throughout. The title cut sends things into up-tempo action with Justin Kauflin's keyboard sounding the call. Highly rhythmic and intense, the energies build as the trio exhibits a superb interplay of ideas. “Lorac Waltz" gives us a ...

175
Album Review

Emre Kartari Quartet: Origin

Read "Origin" reviewed by John Kelman


A line-up featuring two horns (saxophone and trumpet), and two percussionists (tympani and drum kit) might seem an odd choice, but for Turkish drummer Emre Kartari it's simply a different means to a very musical end. Make no mistake: while there's plenty of free play on Origin, it's based around conceptual sketches, written by Kartari, that provide his group with a series of different contexts that are surprisingly varied and unexpectedly complete.

There are plenty of ...

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Photos

Concerts

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

It's All Right With Me

Westmont Records
2022

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Crossing the Water

Self Produced
2020

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Origin

Rec Jazz
2007

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Wistful Gaze

From: Crossing the Water
By Emre Kartari

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