Aydın Esen (born 1962) is a Turkish jazz musician who plays keyboards and electronics.

Career

The son of a trumpeter, Esen began music lessons at the age of five in Turkey and attended a music conservatory, continuing for 13 years. His background was in classical music although he also enjoyed playing drums. At the age of ten, he began sneaking out of school to play with other musicians and as a teenager he led several groups in a variety of styles. Esen first came to the United States when he was awarded a four-year scholarship to

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

where he reportedly completed all of his classes within one year. After studying at the New England Conservatory of Music and

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most e ...

, he had opportunities to play with

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be h ...

Eddie Gomez Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle * Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

Pat Metheny Patrick Bruce Metheny ( ; born August 12, 1954) is an American jazz guitarist and composer. He is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works, and other side projects. His style incorporates elements of progr ...

and Emily Remler. in 1989, he won the 1st prize at the Martial Solal Piano Competition in Paris. He has worked with

Dave Liebman David Liebman (born September 4, 1946) is an American saxophonist, flautist and jazz educator. He is known for his innovative lines and use of atonality. He was a frequent collaborator with pianist Richie Beirach. In June 2010, he received ...

and

Wolfgang Muthspiel Wolfgang Muthspiel (born 2 March 1965) is an Austrian jazz guitarist and record label owner. He is the brother of musician Christian Muthspiel. Music career When he was six, he began playing violin, and at fourteen he moved on to classical gu ...

. His composition "scape-X" (commissioned by Big Basel Festival) was premiered by the Ensemble Phoenix Basel with him as a soloist at the Big Basel Festival in January 2020.

Discography

As leader

* ''Pictures'' (Bellaphon, 1989) * ''So Many Lifetimes'' (JMS, 1989) * ''Aydin Esen'' (JMS, 1990) * ''Anadolu'' (Columbia, 1992) * ''Timescape'' (Doublemoon, 1998) * ''Living'' (Universal/EmArcy, 2001) * ''Dialogo'' (Material, 2005) * ''Light Years'' (Extinction, 2006)

As sideman

Ranjit Barot Ranjit Barot (born 1959) is an Indian film score composer, music director, music arranger, drummer and singer based in Mumbai, India. He is a longtime associate of A. R. Rahman. He has been described by guitar legend John McLaughlin as "one ...

, ''Bada Boom'' (EMI, 2010) *

Jonatha Brooke Jonatha Brooke (born January 23, 1964) is an American folk rock singer-songwriter and guitarist from Massachusetts, United States. Her music merges elements of folk, rock and pop, often with poignant lyrics and complex harmonies. She has been a ...

, ''Plumb'' (Blue Thumb, 1995) * Tommy Campbell, ''My Heart'' (Jazz City, 1989) *

Kai Eckhardt Kai Eckhardt (born 15 June 1961) is a German born musician and composer who plays bass, best known for his work with John McLaughlin, Vital Information, Torsten de Winkel, Billy Cobham and Garaj Mahal—a band he co-founded. Educated at the pre ...

, ''Honour Simplicity Respect the Flow'' (Naim, 2000) *

Daniel Humair Daniel Humair (born 23 May 1938 in Geneva, Switzerland) is a Swiss drummer, composer, and painter. He is widely renowned and became a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1986 and Officier in 1992. He has played with many jazz pe ...

, ''Edges'' (Label Bleu, 1991) *

, ''Timezones'' (Amadeo, 1989) * Emily Remler, ''This Is Me'' (Justice, 1990) * Steve Smith, ''Flashpoint'' (Tone Center, 2005) *

Miroslav Vitous Miroslav may refer to: * Miroslav (given name), a Slavic masculine given name * ''Young America'' (clipper) or ''Miroslav'', an Austrian clipper ship in the Transatlantic case oil trade * Miroslav (Znojmo District), a town in the Czech Republic S ...

, ''Music of Weather Report'' (ECM, 2016) * Miroslav Vitous, ''Ziljabu Nights'' (Intuition, 2016)

References

Post-bop pianists 1962 births Living people Turkish composers Turkish jazz pianists 21st-century pianists Gramavision Records artists Columbia Records artists EmArcy Records artists {{Jazz-pianist-stub