Emre Yilmaz discovered his musical muse as a guitarist at age 10, relocating from his native Turkey to study in the United States as a teen at Michigan’s prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy, then graduating from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. Today, the New Yorker is a master of musical largess, as a singer, songwriter, classical guitarist and sought-after live performer, including regular flamenco jazz fusion gigs with noted Blue Note guitarist Spiros Exaras. His solo “Only Yesterday” is a perfectly timed, consummate graduation day anthem, co-written and arranged with producer and fellow Turk Ayhan Sahin. Emre sings: “Seems like only yesterday, we met each other, found our way/Life it happens, we all change/A new day has come, turn the page.” He not only serenades the masses entering a new phase of life but showcases acoustic guitars, with electric guitars courtesy of Billy Joel bandmate Dennis DelGaudio. Emre’s international catalog is well-established; now this suave, handsome talent has the ultimate showcase to become one of the year’s most auspicious breakouts.
AYHAN SAHIN 