“The Black Sea has always been a melting pot of cultures, a fascinating network of tones that is unknown to us. Along with her quintet, the young Jazz singer Ayca Mirac leads us into this world and connects it to the here and now: on her touching debut “”Lazjazz”” she spans a unique sound bridge between the centuries - from the cultures of the Laz and Mingrelian to the Bosphorus and onward to Bill Evans.
Ayca, who grew up in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, draws from a wealth of cultural sources. Even her grandfather was enthusiastic about classical Turkish music and during her regular visits to Istanbul, the granddaughter heard these sounds. Here she has her second home. Ayca’s father is the well-known poet and writer Yasar Mirac. Through his modal piano improvisations on Turkish melodies, he had an early influence on his daughter’s musical imagination. Many of his poems are set to music, including by the incredibly popular folk group Yeni Turku.
After many steps her courageous vision became clear: to combine the vocabulary of jazz with the treasure of the Black Sea coast into a modern sound language. She names this vision with a catchy and conclusive attribute: “”Lazjazz””. She gets help personally from Wayne Shorter: “”Explore the barriers of your mind and do not be afraid of your own potential,”” he tells her in an intensive encounter.
