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Esat Ekincioğlu

Esat Ekincioglu (Istanbul, 1990) is a Turkish/Dutch bass player, improviser, composer and manager based in Groningen, the Netherlands. A versatile and in-demand bass player, Esat spends much of the year on the road, playing throughout Europe, the Near East and China. Tens of tours and nearly 1000 shows in 31 countries include Jazzhead, Jazzfest Saalfelden, Shanghai World Music Fest, Jazz in Duketown, JazzJantar, Nisville Jazzfest and many more.

Apart from his successful bands KUHN FU and AVA Trio, his newly premiered band Esat Ekincioglu’s Turkish Pumpkin, Esat likes to play solo and in duos where he explores unknown areas of double bass playing, improvisation and microtonal music.

AVA Trio: Digging the Sand

Read "Digging the Sand" reviewed by Karl Ackermann

by Karl Ackermann
December 25, 2019

In 2017 the AVA Trio released their debut album Music from an Imaginary Land (Tritone Records) and promptly made their mark by earning spots on several year-end polls. That inaugural release was a unique amalgamation of ethnic influences and free improvisation. With the release of Digging the Sand, the group continues to mine the imagination and avoid the cliché-riddled and well-worn paths. Amsterdam-based baritone saxophonist Giuseppe Doronzo has a background that includes jazz improvisation, classical and non-western music. ...

"The unbridled way in which this wild man from Turkey tackled his double bass unceremoniously elevated him to primus inter pares. The solo piece 'Freedom Jazz Dance' became a 'Freedom! Jazz! Dance!' Draai om je oren, NL

"Turkish Pumpkin brought a solid and well-filled groovy soup with psychedelic herbs and Afro-Anatolian ingredients. A solid sound with improvisations that sometimes feel like ecstatic songs and calls for trance." JazzRadar (over ZJFT 2023 concert)