The Rhodes International Jazz Festival of Rhodes and the Bodrum Jazz Festival just 96 kilometres away in Turkey, have announced a collaboration as sister festivals.

The ferry distance between the two destinations takes just two and a half hours, and this stood as the premise behind the decision to tap into the international yachting culture in the area by joining forces and attracting tourists from all over the world.

The goal is to show that jazz has its own international language, and for this reason Oktar Varoglu, the Founder, and Tugce Alpaslan, the Director of the Ankara and Bodrum Jazz Festivals, reached out to Dimitrios Vassilakis Founder and Artistic Director of the Rhodes International Jazz Festival. The hope was for the organisers to work together in bringing Greek jazz musicians to perform in Turkey and Turkish jazz musicians to perform in Greece.

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Should the collaboration prove fruitful, there are plans for more expansion into the horizons. There are already a number of educational activities, open discussions and forums in the framework of both festivals. The Greek performers at the festival are the Manos Saridakis trio, the Dimitri Vassilakis Quartet, and an ensemble of young musicians from Rhodes. In addition, a quartet headed by English saxophonist Andy Sheppard will perform on the closing night, 30 August in the Moat Theater of the Palace of the Knights. Admission is free, seating on a first-come, first-serve basis. Venues open at 8 PM. More information is available online: http://www.rhodes-international-jazz-festival.com/.

The Bodrum Festival takes place 1-9 September  with the theme of Ethnic Jazz. The Dimitri Vassilakis Quartet will perform on 2 September presenting Vassilakis’ award-winning Daedalus Project – Labyrinth album. Vassilakis will also conduct several workshops  and master classes.For more information on Vassilakis is available on his website: http://www.dimitriosvassilakis.com/.More information about the Bodrum Jazz Festival is available online: www.bodrumcazfest.org.