Biography
Burhan Oçal, multi-instrumentalist and composer, first saw the light in 1953 inside Kirklareli, a village of Thrace in Turkey’s European territory, inside a household already alive with music. His father passed along numerous percussion instruments, while his mother guided him toward religious vocal traditions. The core of his arsenal remains the darbuka, a vase-shaped drum struck with the fingers, together with kös the kettle drum, kudüm, and bendi; he also lends his voice and handles saz, tanbur, and oud while writing his own material. He settled in Zürich in 1977, yet the livelier climate of Istanbul soon pulled him home, where he already commanded an extensive circle of local players.
Demand for his rhythmic command has come from many quarters in jazz and popular music, illustrated when Sting summoned him to the stage during a 2000 Istanbul concert. Still, his most distinctive work appears in self-directed projects. Jardin Ottoman, issued by Harmonia Mundi in 1996, centers on Turkish classical repertoire of the 17th century. The Oriental Ensemble, devoted to traditional Gypsy and Turkish folk pieces, can be heard on Gypsy Rum from 1995. His Soundways series likewise spotlights historic material, while the unorthodox pairing with electronic musician Pete Namlook produced Sultan Osman in 2000. An alliance with harmolodic electric bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, a frequent visitor to Istanbul, generated Groove Alla Turca for Doublemoon in 2000, an Oriental/funk/hip-hop outfit in which Oçal’s Eastern musicians join a weighty jazz unit that includes ex-Charles Mingus trumpeter Jack Walrath and features Turkish/American rapper Sultana on vocals. The ensemble stirred excitement at jazz festivals and clubs across the globe. A dazzling virtuoso on the darbuka, from which he draws a startling spectrum of tones and rhythms, Oçal’s panoramic outlook comfortably places stately Ottoman melodies beside contemporary turntablists inside the same program, delighting in the resulting atmospheric friction and the audience’s surprise.
Demand for his rhythmic command has come from many quarters in jazz and popular music, illustrated when Sting summoned him to the stage during a 2000 Istanbul concert. Still, his most distinctive work appears in self-directed projects. Jardin Ottoman, issued by Harmonia Mundi in 1996, centers on Turkish classical repertoire of the 17th century. The Oriental Ensemble, devoted to traditional Gypsy and Turkish folk pieces, can be heard on Gypsy Rum from 1995. His Soundways series likewise spotlights historic material, while the unorthodox pairing with electronic musician Pete Namlook produced Sultan Osman in 2000. An alliance with harmolodic electric bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma, a frequent visitor to Istanbul, generated Groove Alla Turca for Doublemoon in 2000, an Oriental/funk/hip-hop outfit in which Oçal’s Eastern musicians join a weighty jazz unit that includes ex-Charles Mingus trumpeter Jack Walrath and features Turkish/American rapper Sultana on vocals. The ensemble stirred excitement at jazz festivals and clubs across the globe. A dazzling virtuoso on the darbuka, from which he draws a startling spectrum of tones and rhythms, Oçal’s panoramic outlook comfortably places stately Ottoman melodies beside contemporary turntablists inside the same program, delighting in the resulting atmospheric friction and the audience’s surprise.
Albums
