THE UTAR ARTUN TRIO

Jazz Standards in Turquoise Notes

SATURDAY, APRIL 19, 2025 | 8:00 pm

Goethe-Institut Boston
170 Beacon Street

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Utar Artun, piano
Vlade Guigni, drums
Youngchae Jeong, bass

The Utar Artun Trio’s latest project "Jazz Standards in Turquoise Notes" explores the blue note from a multicultural and microtonal perspective, giving audiences a chance to experience jazz in a whole new way.

The Utar Artun Trio is composed of world-class musicians who are known for their exceptional skill and virtuosity. In addition to Utar Artun on piano, this project features Vlade Guigni on drums, and Youngchae Jeong on bass. Together, they will blend the rich sounds of Turkish music culture with jazz standards, creating a fresh and exciting new perspective on this beloved genre.

UTAR ARTUN, Pianist, Composer, Arranger

Utar Artun was born in Ankara, Turkey. In 2006, he arranged musical pieces for the theater play The 7 Women. He has since arranged numerous movie soundtracks and oldies/jazz music for symphonic orchestras, including the Bursa Regional Symphony Orchestra, Antalya State Symphony, Çukurova State Symphony, Presidential Symphony Orchestra, and Izmir State Symphony Orchestra, all of which have performed his arrangements and compositions in live concerts. Artun performed at notable festivals in Turkey, such as the 19th Istanbul Jazz Festival, 12th Side Culture Art Festival, 7th Eskisehir Jazz Festival, 12th International Ankara Jazz Festival, 6th International Mersin Music Festival, and 25th International Ankara Music Festival.

In 2008, he graduated from the Percussion Department of Hacettepe Conservatory with a 2nd Rank (runner-up) Degree of School Placement Award. He then participated in the European Scholarship Tours of Berklee College of Music, graduating in 2.5 years with summa cum laude honors. Artun received numerous accolades at Berklee, including: Honorable Mention in the Berklee Contemporary Symphony Orchestra Composition Competition, Barnes & Noble Award, 5 Dean’s List Awards, Outstanding Pianist Award, Arif Mardin Scholarship Award, and Brian Oliver Memorial Award He was a finalist in ASCAP’s Morton Gould Young Composers Competition (2010) and the Young Jazz Composers Competition (2011). In 2010 and 2012, one of his compositions was selected to appear on Jazz Revaluation Records CDs. In 2011, Artun performed with Kevin Eubanks in a studio recording session at WGBH Studios in Boston, MA.

Artun has collaborated with world-renowned artists including Bobby McFerrin, Dave Weckl, Jojo Mayer, Antonio Sanchez, Mark Guiliana, Rudresh Mahanthappa, A. R. Rahman, Vijay Prakash, Simon Shaheen, Dave Holland, Larry Finn, Eddie Gomez, Jason Moran, Fred Hersch, Kati Agocs, Hankus Netsky, Ken Schaphorst, Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, Erkan Ogur, Anat Cohen, Yazhi Guo, Luis Conte, Kenwood Dennard, Jason Linder, Ledisi, Omar Hakim, Chuck Rainey, Jack DeJonnethe, Grace Kelly and David Fiuczynski. He has participated in workshops, clinics, concert performances, and album recordings. Artun was involved in significant projects such as the Rhythm of the Universe and Berklee Yo-Team Projects as an arranger, performer, conductor, and orchestrator. He was also a part of the Planet MicroJam Institute at Berklee College of Music. Artun won some prestigious awards such as 18th HALICI MIDI Composition Contest (2011), 2nd place in the Berklee Film Scoring Contest 7 (2011), Highest Award in the SCAMV 1st National Symphonic Composition Contest (2013), 3rd place in the 9th Eczacibasi National Composition Contest for his symphonic lied Hiclik (2016) Artun has been awarded by the Foundation of Modern Education (CEV) and the Ankara Jazz Society (ACD) in Turkey.

Artun has performed at prestigious festivals including the Undead Jazz Festival, Burlington Jazz Festival, Europalia Arts Festival in Belgium, Musicacoustica Festival in China, Abu Dhabi Festival, Boston Jazz Fest, and many others. His discography includes the neotolia EP Rose Lace (2014), which won a Bronze Medal from Global Music Awards, and the album Neotolian Song (2017). In 2015, he received the Boston Microtonal Society Award and released his solo music video Cajonversations. He later composed new ballet music for the Ankara State Opera & Ballet's Modern Dance projects (2017-2018) and premiered the world’s first Piano & Cajón Concertant at Zorlu PSM, Istanbul, with the Istanbul Symphony Orchestra.

He served as the Honorary Chairman/Judge of the Global Outstanding Chinese Artists Association’s 6th and 7th International Piano Competition. In 2018, Artun won the JCI - TOYP "10 Outstanding Young Persons of the World" Culture Award in Istanbul, Turkey. Recently, he received grants from the Cambridge Community Foundation and the Massachusetts Arts Council. The Award-Winning Nemeth String Quartet commissioned Artun to compose the String Quartet Concert with the Symphony. The Bursa Regional Symphony, Eskisehir Symphony, and Wisconsin Green Bay Symphony performed the premieres of the piece. In 2019, he got a commission from Taipei Chinese Symphony Orchestra to compose From West To East - Limosa's Journey Book.

In 2021, Artun created orchestral arrangements for the new symphonic project “DORE-MIMI” with the Presidential Symphony Orchestra in Ankara. He is the Assistant Chair of the Boston International Music Competition and the Boston International Composition Competition.Since 2021, Artun has been on tour with saxophonist Grace Kelly. In 2022, he acted as an arranger and composed symphonic music for the Hollywood movie About Fate, featuring renowned actors such as Emma Roberts and Lewis Tan.In 2023, Artun arranged music for the Honorary Doctorate concert of renowned Gambian artist Sona Jobarteh in Boston. Recently, he composed “Yüz Yılın Yıldızı”, an official anthem piece for the 100th Anniversary of Turkish Republic for 100-piece choir and symphonic orchestra. He was also invited to perform at the Newton Piano Summit 2023 with his Utar Artun Trio.In 2024, Artun won the 26th Yapi Kredi Afife Jale – Best Musical Theatre Award. He is the composer-in-residence for the Turkish American Orchestra in New York and released his first symphonic album, Scope. In 2024, Berklee dedicated a concert to the Microtonal Music of Utar Artun, and he served as music director and conductor for the DDG4 Quartet & Big Band.

Artun holds a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory (2015), earning Academic Honors. He has composed and arranged over 160 works for symphony orchestras and more than 300 pieces for brass bands and big bands. His music has been performed internationally in the United States, Switzerland, Turkey, Netherlands, China, Canada, Taiwan, Singapore, Czech Republic, and Russia. Artun served as an arranger for the Ankara Kent Big Band and Musical Director for the Classical Oasis Ensemble. He is also a voting member of The Recording Academy for the Grammy Awards and a member of SCI, NACUSA, Çağdaş Türk Bestecileri, and BMI. Artun is a faculty member at Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory Preparatory School.

VLADE GUIGNI, drummer, audio engineer

Vlade is a Dominican Drummer, Producer, Composer, Audio Engineer and Educator. His credits include a variety of artists from Jazz, Pop, Latin, and Contemporary Christian music such as Dave Liebman, George Garzone, Anat Cohen, Gerald Clayton, Darcy James Argue, Aubrey Johnson, Tia Fuller, Leo Blanco, David Gilmore, Pavel Nuñez, Enrique Gonzalez Müller, Lilly Goodman, Danilo Montero, and Marcos Yaroide among others.

Vlade earned world-class academic credentials, a bachelor's degree in Music Production and Engineering, a master's degree in Contemporary Performance (Global Jazz Concentration) and a post-master’s fellowship certification, all from Berklee College of Music. Vlade has released a solo album called "Elevation" and currently, He's working on his the second album, at the same time He plays for several projects in the Boston area along withholding a Staff Accompanist position at the Prestigious Berklee College of Music. He also is the CEO of his own music school and recording studio "Selah Music Studio".

YOUNGCHAE JEONG, bassist, audio engineer 

Youngchae Jeong is a bassist from Seoul, South Korea. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2018. He has performed with Ralph Peterson Jr., Neal Smith, Javon Jackson, Darren Barrett, Russell Taylor, and Jonathan Hoard. He has performed sold-out shows at famed venues, including Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola (NYC), Smalls (NYC), Side Door Bar (Connecticut), Jazz Loft (Stony Brook, NY), Scullers (Boston), Regatta Bar (Boston), Wally’s Café Jazz Club (Boston), Berklee Performance Center, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston), Museum of Fine Arts - Boston, Rockwood Music Hall in New York City, and Lilypad. He has supported the Voice Department as a bass accompanist since 2015 and the Ensemble Department since 2021. He shares his talent for jazz, soul, funk, hip-hop, gospel, and classical music as well as his joy for the bass with audiences everywhere.