Favorite Color: Green
Favorite Foods: ice-cream and any kind of desert
Favorite Instruments: piano, trumpet
Favorite TV Show: Family Guy, Seinfeld
Favorite Music: jazz, classical
Fun Facts About Can: I enjoy playing PS games and riding my bicycle


Can (pronounced Jon) Cankaya was just seven years old when he joined Istanbul State Opera and the Instanbul Ballet’s Children’s Choir. He participated in various operas as a chorister! At the age of 11, he entered Istanbul University State Conservatory and heard Miles Davis' music in his early conservatory years. Can discovered a totally different approach then classical music genre - so he started to practice jazz standards along with classical works and tried to improve his knowledge of chords and harmony while practicing the piano. During his university years, Can started to play the piano at various jazz clubs in Istanbul and he performed at the International Istanbul Jazz Festival, Galata Festival, Improvisation Festival, and a series of concerts in Paris and Strasbourg. In 2007, he won a full scholarship from William Paterson University where he received his Masters of Music (MM) degree.  While there, Can had the opportunity to study with Harold Mabern, Mulgrew Miller, James Weidman and Rich De Rosa. Besides jazz music, Can is interested in exploring different sounds and musical conceptions through an appreciation of Anatolian folk music and world music. Can now resides in NYC as an active pianist-composer.