The Dutch musician with Turkish roots is not only a gifted singer and piano-player, but also a composer, arranger and lyricist. At the age of 7 she gets her own piano and immediately starts taking lessons. It doesn’t take long before she masters classical pieces of Chopin, Mozart, Bach and Beethoven, which she plays in addition to traditional Turkish songs and modern jazz songs.
In 2012 she released her debut album ‘Confession’. After this release Karsu gave had a theatre tour in Holland, Belgium and Germany and had many concerts in Brazil, France, Indonesia, Morocco, Monaco, and many times in Turkey. Concertgebouw Amsterdam, North Sea Jazz Festival (2010 & 2013), Istanbul Jazz Festival, Akbank Jazz Festifal and three times in the legendary Carnegie Hall in New York, are also on her concert lists.
‘Confession’, is a delight for those who like jazzy/poppy sounds. Like on her first live recording CD ‘Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ’ Karsu mixes jazz, blues, funk and ethnic influences.
In 2012 a documentary about the live of Karsu and her family was broadcasted at the IDFA, ‘Karsu, I hide a secret’, which still can be seen at many countries.
At 7th of March Karsu gave a big concert in Istanbul for about 2000 people. In May 2015, she had the honour to open the Holland Festival in Royal Theater Carré.
September 2015: the second studio album COLORS is released in Amsterdam. In this album, Karsu wrote all the song, including two Turkish songs, Birak beni Böyle and Bekledim. Karsu gave a clubtour show in Holland after this release. In November & December 2015, Colors will be released in Turkey. In 2016 her 5th Theater tour Colors will start also.
Solo: Karsu plays the piano and sings her own (English) songs and Turkish tradionals
Band: depending on the request: Karsu can play duo, trio, quarto etc.
Orchetra: Karsu has given many concerts with an orchestra. For instance Metropole Orkest (4 times), Ricciotti Ensemble, Paradiso orkest, Noord Pool Orkest and Eskisehir Simfone orkestrasi
Close your eyes and you’ll have the impression that you’re listening to a ‘Big old jazz mama’ from New Orleans.