Vocalist, oboe player and composer Elif Sanchez [Elif Cakmut] was born in Istanbul, Turkey. Her musical journey started in her hometown. After the music education she received from her family, at the age of 10, she studied at Istanbul University State Conservatory. Elif continued middle school and high school education, majoring in classical performance on oboe and English horn. Later, she graduated from Istanbul University State Conservatory high school with the “Outstanding Achievement Award.”
At the age of 16, Elif started playing with the Istanbul University State Conservatory Symphony Orchestra and performed at many significant historic concert halls, including Cemal Resit Rey, Hagia Eirene Museum, and the Basilica Cistern. She also represented Turkey at the Belford FIMI-Festival International de Musique Universitaire with the same orchestra.
In 2011, Elif studied jazz vocal at Bahçeşehir University’s Jazz Department with a full scholarship. She worked with acclaimed jazz musicians such as Sibel Köse, Baki Duyarlar, Şevket Akıncı, Amy London, Maucha Adnet, and Duduka Da Fonseca. During that time, Elif performed at the most prominent jazz clubs of Istanbul, such as Nardis Jazz Club, Mitanni, Alt Jazz Club, and 60m2.
Elif Sanchez decided to continue her education in the United States in 2012 and moved to Boston. In 2013, she was accepted to Berklee College of Music with a scholarship, and studied jazz oboe and vocal, majoring in performance, and Music Business as a minor.
In the United States, Elif performed at major festivals and venues. Additionally, she appeared on several albums, including Dream Theater’s “Breaking the Fourth Wall”; Matthew Nicholl’s “Della by Moonlight”; Iñigo Ruiz de Gordejuela’s “Surrogate Activities,” and Alexander Anderson’s “Unidentified Fusion Orangemen.”
In the United States, Elif married Ecuadorian trumpeter and composer (and fellow Berklee graduate) Paul Sánchez. She changed her name from Elif Cakmut to Elif Sanchez and learned Spanish at home.
Elif’s group “Mediant Collective” (founded in 2015) caught the attention of 14 Grammy award winner Javier Limón, a renowned musician and producer from Spain. She was invited to the “Refuge of Sound” project as a guest artist. “Refuge of Sound” brought together students and alumni to record music written by Javier Limón.
The first Mediant Collective album was released in 2015 with the sponsorship of the Mediterranean Music Institute, produced by Matthew Nicholl and Javier Limón. The group toured in Greece, Spain, Israel, and Turkey; performed in festivals such as Formentera Jazz Festival and Istanbul Jazz Festival; as well as important venues such as Nardis Jazz Club, Jimmy Glass Jazz Bar, Concert Hall of Philippos Nakas Conservatory, Concert Hall of Zosimaia, Levontin 7, The Yellow Submarine, and Mitzpe Ramon Jazz Club.
In 2016, she was interviewed by Spanish-language TV network Univision with her new project that blended Middle Eastern and Latin music. With this project, she gave concerts at Pobre Diablo Jazz Club and Ananke Jazz Club in Ecuador and held a one-week vocal workshop at Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
Elif graduated from Berklee, winning the Bill Pierce Award and the Mediterranean Music Institute Award in 2017. Subsequently, she moved to New York to continue performing with her project at concert halls such as Drom NYC, Rockwood Music Hall, and The Well Brooklyn.
On her debut album, “Elif Sanchez” (Pasión Turca in 2021), Elif mixed Turkish folk music, classical music and jazz, and presented the most popular folk songs of Anatolia and Azerbaijan, including, “Ay Oğlan Yiğit Misin,” “Almanı Attım Xarala,” and “Bağlamam Perde Perde” alongside the classic Spanish-language song “Contigo Aprendí” by Armando Manzanero, a well-known Mexican singer that was highly popular in Spanish-speaking America and Spain.
Elif Sanchez revealed, “This album is basically a 40-minute-long biography and tells everyone who Elif really is. I grew up in Istanbul, but under a roof that had Anatolian culture. I lived in the United States for a long time. I spoke English outside, but there was always Latin food and Spanish inside of our home. I’ve always had multiple cultures in my life. This album represents all those cultures. Turkish and Azerbaijani folk songs with Jazz, Latin, basically world music influences”.
In 2022, Elif released “Mi Voz” (My Voice), an album in Spanish with Flamenco and Turkish musical influences.
Discography:
Elif Sanchez (Pasión Turca, 2021)
Mi Voz (Pasión Turca, 2022)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.