Frank Sinatra Interview With Kerem Gorsev
Born in 1961 in Istanbul, Kerem Gorsev is one of the important jazz musicians in Turkey. I had a chance to see him perform with his trio last year, in Tony Bennett – Kerem Gorsev Trio concert, which was quite an experience. Though I am not a big fan of trios, I try to follow him from time to time to see and understand his progress, since Kerem Gorsev is the most famous cazz pianist in Turkey today. Needless to say, Kerem Gorsev has been performing in many other countries as well, due to his success. Since I know he loves Frank Sinatra, i wanted to interview with him, and he has been kind to accept my request.
Dear Kerem Gorsev, first of all, thanks for accepting my interview request. Firstly, I want to talk about you. You are one of the leading and most popular jazz musicians and pianists in Turkey. When did your first interest in jazz music appeared and who encouraged you about this or which musicians influenced you at most?
When I was studying at the music college, I showed interest in jazz music when listening to the LP’s of my brother and his friends. They used to convert them into cassettes and give me. I listened them and was impressed, and started to understand the way of that music. Bill Evans has been the first and the most influencing jazz pianist in my whole life.
What kind of jazz music do you love most? Do you try to stick to one when creating your work of arts?
I love acoustic jazz and the music of 1950s, 60s and 70s. When making my music, I stick to the traditional trio style. Quartet, quintet and big bands have also been a matter of interest for me. Combining the style and behavior of those eras and the stories that live gives me today, I am trying to find a taste and style myself.
Do you like Frank Sinatra? When did you first listen to him?
I am one of the millions of Frank Sinatra fans in the world. I have plenty of CD’s of him at my house. When I started to listen jazz music in the middle 1970s, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Johny Hartman and Nat King Cole were the male vocals I love at most.
Frank Sinatra was a person who proved himself in different types of music such as jazz, swing, pop, ballad and easy listening. Which style of him do you prefer, and which songs of Frank Sinatra are your favorite ones?
Frank Sinatra has impressed me most with his recordings with large orchestras. Especially the recordings, which used the arrangement of Claus Ogerman and in which Sinatra worked with Antonio Carlos Jobim are of the most important recordings of music history. The ballads he sang in TV Shows with Dean Martin and Judy Garland with large orchestras including string sections are still listened with pleasure. The song I love at most is the ballad Nancy, which is for his daughter.
What are your opinions about the orchestration, background, arrangement and quality of Frank Sinatra songs? Can you define them as rich and qualified?
Frank Sinatra worked with the best musicians and orchestras throughout his life. Working with big bands and string orchestras and with the best orchestra conductors and arrangers such as Nelson Riddle and Claus Ogerman, Sinatra has made himself timeless with high quality music.
It is for sure that Frank Sinatra was once the best. Do you think he still has an effect on musicians of today’s world? Do people know about his art as well as his fame today?
Sinatra was one of the most important musicians of the world in his times, of course. In our times, I think musicians of the young generation use the things, which they learn when listening to Frank Sinatra’s CDs or watching his DVDs and movies, in their musical career. Frank Sinatra was a very serious, successful musician.
Coming to the end of our interview, do you wish to add anything related to Frank Sinatra or TheFrankSinatra.com?
Your website has undertaken a task of introducing Frank Sinatra and teaching about him to younger generations. I congratulate you.
Mr. Kerem Gorsev, thank you very much for the interview and your kind answers. I wish you success in your life and in your musical career, and days full of jazz and Sinatra.
For more information about Kerem Gorsev, you can visit the following the following link to his official website.
http://www.keremgorsev.com/index.php?lang=en