| Jazz |
Meltem Edge’s ‘Solitude’: A Dazzling, Genre-Defying Debut that Dares to Wander.
Sometimes, albums arrive late, long after their initial release date or industry buzz. But when an artist’s vision strikes with such clarity and originality, the calendar hardly matters. Solitude, the latest offering from Turkish-born, Los Angeles–based vocalist and composer Meltem Edge, is one of those rare works that feels timeless from the first note. Opening with a breath of vocal improvisation bordering on scat, the album draws the listener into a soundscape both intimate and vast, rooted in jazz but unconcerned with its boundaries.
Edge’s voice is arrestingly singular, so evocative, so technically precise, and yet so unburdened by the need to flaunt virtuosity, that one quickly forgets the complexity behind the music. What remains is the emotional clarity of a performer who seems to channel her entire being into every phrase. And perhaps this is no surprise. With a background as rich and multifaceted as her sound, Edge brings a rare depth to her debut.
Classically trained in piano and steeped in jazz vocals from her formative years at Bilkent University and the Berklee College of Music, Edge later expanded her horizons at the California Institute of the Arts, where she immersed herself in experimental music and theater. That boundary-blurring sensibility now defines her work, whether she’s composing intricate chamber pieces, performing solo with electronic textures, or venturing into avant-garde opera. Today, she teaches full-time at CalArts, but Solitude reveals an artist still very much in creative motion.
There is no single genre label that can contain this album. If it has a style, it is Meltem Edge herself—an artist unafraid to play with the forms of jazz, reinventing and recontextualizing them through her own deeply personal lens. Across eight original compositions recorded between Turkey and the United States, Solitude offers not only a feast for the ears, but an exploration of identity, memory, and emotional terrain. It is as much an artistic manifesto as it is a collection of songs.
From the outset, it’s clear that Edge is not merely interested in jazz as a genre but as a vehicle for expression, one that allows her to infuse elements of her Turkish heritage, particularly in her harmonic choices and use of string textures, into a broader, more expansive sonic palette. These integrations never feel forced or ornamental; rather, they emerge organically, reflecting a lifetime of artistic exploration.
One of the album’s most striking features is its multilingualism, not just in language, but in musical vocabulary. On tracks like “Aklında Kalmasın” (which translates roughly as “So I Won’t Stay on Your Mind”), Edge weaves Turkish lyrics into a richly jazz-inflected framework, defying expectations and offering something wholly new. It is rare to hear Turkish sung with such fluidity over contemporary jazz forms, and rarer still to hear it done with such emotional authenticity and compositional integrity.
In an era where vocal jazz albums can begin to blur together, Solitude stands apart—not because it tries to be different, but because it cannot be anything else. Edge’s artistic identity is so firmly rooted in a blend of cultures, disciplines, and modes of expression that imitation is impossible. This is the sound of a woman who knows exactly who she is—and who is still discovering what she can become.
At its heart, Solitude is an invitation, to travel, to reflect, to listen more deeply. It asks nothing more than your attention, and in return offers a vast, multifaceted world of sound and emotion. For listeners who value cultural richness, artistic risk, and the thrill of discovery, this album will offer pleasure and provocation in equal measure.
In times increasingly marred by noise and conformity, Solitude is a quiet act of resistance. It offers not only beauty, but depth. Not just craft, but character. And through it all, Meltem Edge reminds us of what jazz can be: a space for dialogue, for intimacy, for thought, and for freedom.
Let yourself be carried by her voice, and you may just find yourself in a different place entirely.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, June 10th 2025
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Musicians:
Meltem Ege’s album Solitude brings together musicians from recording sessions in Los Angeles and Istanbul.
The Los Angeles session includes Meltem Ege on vocals, Theo Bleckmann on vocals on the track “We Must Not Say Yes”, Sarpay Ozcagatay on flute on the same track, Derek Bomback on guitar, Miller Wrenn on double bass, Matthew Welton Smith on drums, Ibra Rachel and Rock Mecutie on violin, Betsy Rettig on cello.
The Istanbul session brings together Meltem Ege on vocals, Sarpay Özçağatay on flute on “Eyes of Innocence”, Senova Ülker on trumpet, Bulut Gülen on trombone, Önder Focan on guitar, Ozan Musluoğlu on double bass, and Serkan Alagök on drums.
Tracklisting:
Anlayama
We Must not Say Yes
Solitude
Dawn
Sennline Dans
Eye Of Innocence
Brush Strokes