Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol Quintet featuring Ingrid Jensen

Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol Quintet performs Grammy nominated composer, multi-instrumentalist and jazz pianist Mehmet Ali Sanlıkol’s unique blend of innovative Turkish music influenced compositions in which Middle Eastern modes and rhythmic cycles are not simply placed next to contemporary jazz but are intertwined with it.  Sanlıkol hopes to demonstrate a style of writing and performance in contemporary jazz that is cosmopolitan, pluralist and inclusive without reducing or standardizing the musical languages which influenced it. The Boston Globe calls Sanlıkol’s music “colorful, fanciful, full of rhythmic life, and full of feeling,” adding that it is “not touristy, but rather sophisticated, informed, internalized.” Sanlıkol’s first jazz orchestra album was JAZZIZ magazine’s Top 10 Critics’ Choice 2014 pick and his second jazz orchestra album was DownBeat magazine’s September 2016 Editor’s Pick. Sanlıkol’s The Rise Up, commissioned by NEA Jazz Master Dave Liebman, received a 4 star review from The Financial Times, his trio album was included among the “Best Albums of 2022” by DownBeat magazine, and his latest album was DownBeat magazine’s May 2025 Editor’s Pick with a 4 star review.