Hakan Başar
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Stay tuned, someone would say: there is a good chance that more pleasant surprises await those who choose to remain engaged. In the meantime, let us enjoy this excellent recorded evidence and keep Hakan Başar in our mind.
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Luca Conti
This time we throw off the mask and, unbalancing ourselves as never before, cheerfully hazard a prophecy: pianist Hakan Başar, born in Istanbul in 2004, already has almost everything to become a major player in jazz in the coming years, and by «everything» we mean technique, swing, interplay, groove, drive, sensitivity and so on.
The «almost» is hidden for now in the demonstration of his compositional skills, which in this record (his second, barring errors) remain – we presume deliberately – still in the shadows by peeping out in only one track; however, it is very likely that these skills will become more visible in his future works, which Red Records has already hinted at for the years to come.
After all, it is perfectly understandable that a young pianist of such talents goes through, at the beginning, a phase in which the greatest enjoyment lies in playing the pieces of the greats who have gone before him.
It is an obvious way of coming to terms with tradition, of challenging himself and figuring out whether and how it is possible to fit in the wake of the masters. Especially in the case of Hakan Başar, who is not only an excellent instrumentalist but also, according to his producer Marco Pennisi, a maniacal listener to say the least; and who as a result, in addition to having studied the instrumenAfter all, it is perfectly understandable that a young pianist of such talents goes through, at the beginning, a phase in which the greatest enjoyment lies in playing the pieces of the greats who have gone before him.t with the likes of Clare Fischer, Walter Norris, Bill Dobbins, David Berkman, Andy Laverne and several others, has been largely trained on records.
His repertoire has been shaped, in no small part, by his extensive listening habits. So many of his influences make an appearance on this album through pieces of their own composition: Petrucciani, Peterson, Strayhorn, Walton, Tyner, and even a non-pianist like Wes Montgomery. However, further listening ends up revealing additional equally or more indicative inspirations, notably Chick Corea and Ahmad Jamal.
Luca Conti
