Volkan Öktem
Biography
He played with Sertab Erener, the winner of 2002 Eurovision Song Contest, at local and global venues. In the meantime, he still participated in various jazz projects, continued working on albums and kept on performing at concerts.
He performed on Aşkın Arsunan's "One a day" album and also played at 7th International Istanbul Jazz Festival with Aşkın Arsunan Ethno-Karma Band in July 2000. In July 2004, he played with John Scofield in 11th International Istanbul Jazz Festival. Furthermore, in January 2005 he played with Bendik Hofseth "Down to Earth" project in İş Sanat Jazz Days.
In 1996, he and a couple of his good friends formed the jazz fusion group named Trio Mrio. Several years later, with the addition of another friend, they released their first album "9 parça (9 singles)" and renamed the group Quartet Muartet appropriately. With an ever increasing fan base, they still work together and perform at various clubs and concerts.
In July 2005, he performed at 12th International Istanbul Jazz Festival, with Muvaffak "Muffy" Falay and Elvan Aracı, and also played with İstanbul Superband for Dianne Reeves.
He played with Okan Ersan & Istanbul Superband in Leverkusen Jazz Festival in November 2006 and November 2007. He also performed on Yamaha All Stars Europe in Frankfurt on March 13th, 2008. He recently played in Aydın Esen Group with Aydın Esen and Selçuk Karaman, in Sunside Jazz Club-Paris on September 22nd, 2009.
Presently, Volkan Öktem is touring with Tarkan, one of the most famous musicians in Turkey, playing at concerts in many cities in Turkey and Europe. He still continues working on studio recordings in Turkey, as well as performing internationally for various projects.
