Singer-songwriter Karsu Dönmez sounds as if the spirit of some big mama from the heyday of R&B has taken possession of her. Yet the Amsterdam-based singer with Turkish roots is only nineteen years young. When she was seven, Dönmez had her first piano lesson and ever since age fourteen she has performed regularly in her parents' restaurant. Besides being a soulful singer, Dönmez is also a gifted pianist, composer and arranger. Her talent has not gone unnoticed and the American embassy has given her a grant for the University of Rhode Island. Meanwhile, she has performed at the Concertgebouw once and even twice at Carnegie Hall (in 2007 and 2009). Now she will enchant the North Sea Jazz audience with her eclectic music in which jazz, Turkish folk music and classical influences go hand in hand.
