About Us

The Jazz Society, as a non-profit non-governmental organization, is the umbrella organization that continues its activities for Jazz in Turkey. 

It was founded in 1995 under the leadership of Özlem Oktar Varoğlu with the support of jazz lovers such as Sedat Ergin, Ece Temelkuran, Fatih Çekirge, Doğan Akın, Murat Artu and Yavuz Baydar. 

The purpose of the Society is to instill, promote and popularize jazz music, to offer opportunities to perform on the stage to many local and foreign jazz artists, and to provide support to young musicians both in their own events and in national scope. 

The adventure of the Jazz Society, which started with the METU Jazz Days, has turned into the International Ankara Jazz Festival, which has been held in Ankara since 1995. In addition to the Ankara Jazz Festival, Jazz Mix Culture, Street Festival, Jazz in the Museum, Bodrum Jazz Festival, and important cultural activities such as workshops held within the Society, jazz history lectures, general culture talks and projects in accordance with the foundation purposes of the Society are carried out.

A Scholarship Fund has been established within the Society to support the academic career plans of students studying at post-graduate and above graduate programs in the field of jazz music. Ticket revenues from festivals contributes to the young musicians during their education by being transferred to the Fund.

The Society aims to maintain continuity while cooperating with other non-governmental organizations, official institutions, embassies, local administrations, art institutions, universities, artists, members of the association who devoted to jazz music, and all jazz enthusiasts will continue to overcome the obstacles in front of the arts and to make music accessible in line with its founding purposes.