MERAL POLAT TRIO

One of the last 4 nominated

Nominated

ABOUT

'A fascinating debut full of powerful, modern Anatolian folk rock that grabs your soul in all its fearlessness. '

- Eric van Domburg Scipio, Heaven – january 2023

'...comforting, pensive and above all of exceptional beauty. A world album in every sense of the word!’

- Jan Willem Broek Subjectivisten- dec 2022

Meral Polat Trio takes its audience on a journey through contemporary Anatolian folk- and mountain songs with raw blues and Kurdish Soul. Earthy, hopeful and soul-cutting. Driven by the poetic legacy of her father, Ali İhsan Polat, the trio undertakes a quest and interpret the love, vitality and melancholy of the heart. Ez Kî Me (who am i) tells universal stories and giving them new meaning.

Meral Polat is a renowned actrice, singer/songwriter and theatremaker in the Netherlands. Graduated from the Amsterdam University of the Arts, Drama and contemporary music theatre. Her field of artistic discipline consists in eminent theatre, film and music productions. Together with Chris Doyle and Frank Rosaly they are Meral Polat Trio. Chris Doyle is a pianist, multi-instrumentalist and composer from the United States, a graduate of Berklee School of Music in Boston and McGill University in Montreal. Frank Rosaly is a Puerto Rican drummer, composer and sound designer. His musical approach stems from an exhaustive study of jazz, classical percussion, improvisation, as well as classical composition and post-classical techniques such as Musique concrete, graphic notation and chance operation. The trio collaborates frequently with Rotterdam-based drummer, composer, & producer Jens Bouttery. Bouttery's musical roots stem from the Brussels jazz scene. He currently operates in a wide range of artistic disciplines including composing for film, theater and dance and writing and performing with pop duo Hi Hawaii.

FACTS

Meral Polat is working on a new release, set to be out in fall 2025
Meral Polat Trio is one of the last 4 nominated for the Songlines Awards 2024.
Meral Polat Trio is nominated for an Upbeat Award 2024.
New album expected in September 2025
Jazzlab invited the band to do a tour in Belgium with 11 shows.
Meral Polat Trio performed at InJazz 2023 in Rotterdam.
Meral Polat Trio performed at for the Spanish showcase festival 'MMVV', They have been selected as one of the UpBeat bands.
Meral Polat Trio was featured on the 'Top Of The World' CD of Songlines.
Meral Polat Trio performed live at Babel Music XP in Marseille, France on March 25, 2023.
Meral Polat Trio's new album 'Ez Kî Me' is being noticed globally and placed on various charts.

#23 - Global Village Top 40 JUNE 2023

#18 - World Music Central Top 40 FEB 2023

#18 - Balkan WMC YEAR 2022

#26 - Transglobal WMC DEC 2022

#7 - MixedWorldMusic YEAR 2022

PRESS QUOTES

Songlines

"The sparse and repetitive soundscape created by the two turns out to be exceptionally effective in enhancing the spell that Polat casts with her deeply felt rendition of her father's poetry."

Jazzism

"The atmosphere of the album is quite unique and takes the listener to another world."

Gonzo

"Her mourning fuels the raw blues with which she imbues Anatolian folk and mountain songs with that contemporary perspective. Emotions permeate "Ez Kî Me." "Wayê" sounds as if going into battle."

MixedWorldMusic

"Challenged by two virtuoso companions, she (Meral) embarks on a meandering journey through Anatolian folk, Kurdish sounds, and Afro-American blues."

Jazzwise @ inJazz

"The Meral Polat Trio gave one of the most impressive performances of the whole event."