Bloor Annex Summer Music Series: Esra Gürçay Trio

Esra Gürçay (pronounced Es-ra Gehr-chai) is a jazz vocalist and singer-songwriter from Istanbul, Turkey, currently living in Toronto. She sings songs from the Great American Songbook, as well as modern jazz standards, which she often writes her own lyrics to. Her original compositions blend modern jazz with indie, neo-soul, jazz-fusion and free music. She performs regularly in Toronto, both as a band leader and member of various University of Toronto-rooted jazz and creative ensembles. Before moving to Toronto, she performed regularly across Turkey’s top jazz clubs and at various jazz festivals, such as the International Istanbul Jazz Festival, Akra Jazz Festival, Bodrum Jazz Festival and more. She was recognized in 2023 at both the Nardis Young Jazz Vocal and IKSV Young Jazz competitions.