Ayhan Sicimoğlu (leader) congas
Zeynep Özbilen Arabacıoğlu v
Banu Kunt v
Luis Ernesto Gomez v & bongos
Emre Ataker keyb
Umut Arabacı b
Barış Doğukan Yazıcı tp
Taşkın Akarsu tb
İlke Devrim Duman d


'Modern Latin Music is the son of 'Salsa' which was born in the 1960s. Salsa, having a rooted genealogy was born in Cuba from an African mother and a Spanish father. This synthesis which is a blend of 'Cancion', Spanish songs taken apart from Andalusia, and rituals enslaved from 'Bantu' and 'Arara' regions of Africa is a fusion of Spanish colors and African percussion. There are even some drops of French 'Creole' inside. Moreover, you can hear a heritage from Andalusia, oriental and Arab melodies from afar.

I like the most two features of this music. First it is a cocktail of thousands of years old African rituals, Spanish poets, Andalusia-Arab lyric poems, French chansons and American jazz and it has a steady evolution having a harmony of its own and is produced by master hands. Degeneration which is very common for different genres of music goes hand in hand with cultural corrosions of societies. I guess, if Cuban Revolution has not been experienced, this music would not be this much delicious, fresh, protected from additives and exempt from artificial colorings. My band Latin All Stars kneads this blend with warm hands and hot gusto of the Mediterranean and with a sense that you have not heard before. Let us meet at Ankara Jazz Festival...'

Ayhan Sicimoğlu