Take Five With Ferit Odman

About Ferit Odman:
Ferit Odman is an on demand and busy jazz drummer based in Istanbul. He started his music studies in Sweden as an AFS exchange student (1999), got a full scholarship to get his B.A. in Music at Istanbul Bilgi University (2001), attended the School For Improvisation workshops in NYC (2004), and has been granted a Fulbright Scholarship to further build on his studies at William Paterson University (2006). He spent / played two years in NYC and holds a M.M. (Master of Music) degree in Jazz Performance. He has three albums as a leader and played over 30 recordings. Odman recently performs with TRT Big Band and Turkish pianist Kerem Görsev, while leading his own quintet and touring around Europe.

Instrument(s):
Drums

Teachers and/or influences?
Max Roach, Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones.

I knew I wanted to be a musician when...
When I was 11.

Your sound and approach to music:
Swinging.

Your teaching approach:
Back to the basics.

Your dream band:
Just recorded my last album with my dream band.

Favorite venue:
North Sea Jazz Festival, Nardis Jazz Club

Your favorite recording in your discography and why?
Dameronia With Strings. The use of string arrangements, which is very rare for a drummer's album as well as the fact that it's recorded, mixed and mastered purely analog to vinyl. That means you'll hear exactly what we played that day, without any digital corrections. This is a tribute that I worked on meticulously in honor of my favorite pianist/composer Tadd Dameron.

The first Jazz album I bought was:
Wynton Marsalis, Levee Low Moan.

What do you think is the most important thing you are contributing musically?
Keeping the tradition alive.

CDs you are listening to now:
Nicholas Payton, Letters (Paytone)
Otis Brown III, The Thought Of You (Blue Note)
David Binney, Graylen Epicenter (Mythology Records)
Clifford Brown, With Strings (Verve)

Desert Island picks:
Roy Haynes, Out Of The Afternoon (Impulse!);
Wynton Kelly, Kelly At Midnight (Vee Jay Recordings);
Hank Mobley. Roll Call (Blue Note);
Clifford Brown and Max Roach, Study In Brown (Polygram);
The Engine Room, A History Of Jazz Drumming From Storyville to 52nd Street (Proper Records).

What are some of the essential requirements to keep jazz alive and growing?
People to go out, check out live music and buy hard copies.

What is in the near future?
Just released my third album as a leader: Dameronia With Strings.

What's your greatest fear when you perform?
No fears

If I weren't a jazz musician, I would be a:
A lost soul.