BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT URL:http://www.russianmix.com/events/viewevent/262-erkan-ogur-s-telvin-at-drom/ DTSTART:20140927T200000 DTEND:20140927T230000 SUMMARY:Erkan Ogur's Telvin at DROM DESCRIPTION:ly/1oHWRCi Details: Erkan Ogur's Telvin at DROM Telvin Erkan Oğur, Turgut Alp Bekoğlu and İlkin Deniz, The band, Telvin, has become a legend in international musical circles and has finally recorded its long-awaited album. The double-CD combines elements of contemporary jazz with traditional Turkish themes and showcases each musician’s virtuosity. Telvin rarely gives live concerts. Yet, Turkish jazz lovers have talked about the band for years. Fans have eagerly awaited an album. The band’s bassist, İlkin Deniz, has been living in the USA for some years and guitarist Erkan Oğur and drummer Turgut Alp Bekoğlu felt they couldn’t go into the studio with any other bassist than İlkin. Telvin had given successful concerts in the USA, had always played collaboratively, and felt they could only realize their pieces as a unit. Well, at long last the eagerly awaited album of this trio has finally been released as a double CD. Erkan Oğur is an indescribable talent of the music world. His vision is wide ranging, from ethnic folk music and traditional Turkish themes to rock, blues and contemporary jazz. Erkan plays traditional lutes and various types of guitar, acoustic and electric, fretted and fretless, all with the same sense of perfectionism. He has mesmerized music lovers with the fretless guitar he designed and built nearly 30 years ago. An E-bow synthesizer is frequently used to produce unique and evocative sounds chillingly similar to the ney and other flutes indigenous to Turkish music. Listeners have gotten to know Oğur through multi-genre albums, film soundtracks and other projects showcasing his many talents. However, there have been very few recorded examples of his jazz guitar stylings and improvisations. His musical genius and unique signature sound were first heard in his album called Fretless (recorded in Germany) and A Lifetime Guest (recorded in Turkey). His albums and individualistic approach to music have been glowingly praised in European and American media such as Guitar Player magazine. Turgut Alp Bekoğlu has for years been a notable figure on the international music scene. While his heart has always been steeped in the jazz tradition, his virtuosity has allowed him to accompany numerous Turkish pop stars in the 1980s. Turgut has performed at various international festivals through the years and has influenced an entire new generation of Turkish drummers with his percussion knowledge and techniques. İlkin Deniz is perhaps not as well known as the other two musicians. Living and working in the US as an artist and graphic designer, he has seldom been able to share his musical talents with European and Turkish audiences. But, Ilkin has played alongside many reputable Turkish musicians and singers and his skills on acoustic and electric bass are admired in inner circles. He has a strong reputation in jazz circles of east coast USA. Together, the band has placed contemporary jazz music at the heart of its sound – it is the main axis of Telvin. There is vibrant inspiration from European jazz with deep impact of 1970s rock and jazz fusion. Each musician’s individual skills and passion have been distilled and melded into the band’s compositions. This individualism combined with virtuoso technique has helped them create their very own unique sound. What is prevalent in the first of the two discs is a ‘spirit’ of acoustic music rather than merely an acoustic sound. One can find the true meaning of telvin (which in Turkish means ‘transitioning from one state to another or changing color’), most in the pieces on the first CD. The traces of unique colors, tones and an abstract perception crystallize in all the musicians’ expression, and in Oğur’s guitar technique in particular. Doğuş and Engeller Uyanıyor are two impressive examples. Güzelleme possesses the same characteristics but also bears traces of the ECM sound. One of the pieces that reflects Oğur, and of course Telvin’s, most typical nuances is Sızı. The first piece on the second disc, Arkadaş, is both pessimistic and touching. It is possible to find the ECM atmosphere in Güzelleme in this piece too. In a piece called Şaka we hear the prowess of the rhythm section. This is a piece that also reflects best the nuances in Oğur’s guitar style and the bridge the band forms with contemporary jazz. In Eşbabiye, one of two live recordings on the album, the richness in their musical scope and improvisational skills immediately stands out. As for İki Anahtar, it is a fretless guitar feast by Oğur, in harmony with the band. Dılore Nenelerim is the final piece on the album. It marks a special musical impressionism Erkan Oğur creates with a kopuz (a small instrument of the saz family) over a flawless jazz rhythm. The band essentially goes full circle – they rest at the stops of jazz and contemporary music, coming back to their traditional roots. Telvin is striving to extract different colors, tones and the world’s chaos into their own idiom. TELVİN – projects joined with bassist İlkin Deniz and percussionist Turgut Alp Bekoğlu in 1995 to form Telvin. They began to follow a music quest together. This quest was the expression of the concept of telvin in music. For 10 years, with a few intervals, they have performed their music at both national and international festivals and performance venues. They released their first album in 2006. Telvin means ‘colors’. Sufi masters interpret telvin as the transitioning from state to state, going towards a state of decision. The poet Yunus Emre describes telvin: “God gave me an open heart that admires (falls in love) quickly, One moment it is joyous, One moment it becomes tearful” The poem describes the turbulence of the human spirit within itself, between opposite poles. The phrase “one moment” describes how the spirit constantly changes. If there is still music in the moment when you set yourself free from human frailties, such as passion, fear, love, ambition, appetite, then that is pure music. Themes gain form based on the part of the musical energy in the universe that was gifted to Anatolia, and signified transitioning from state to state, with their unique style which involves considerable improvisations, and become an expression of the musical states in our lives. Telvin is both unassuming and unlimited. If telvin is a place, we have knocked on the door from the outside. By chance, the door opened. We went inside and it closed behind us – we got lost inside. We are looking for the door that opens to the outside. The Telvin project aims to carry with it the rich musical repertoire of Anatolia, on one side traditional drums and on the other the erbane (tambourine). Music is a function of the past. There will be music in the future, but its existence is dependent on the music of the past. Erkan OĞUR Born in 1954. encountered music at an early age in Elazığ, becoming familiar with the fretless lutes specific to Anatolian and Turkish music. He began playing the guitar in his high school years. He went on to Ankara University Faculty of Science, moving to Germany to continue his education. Oğur built the first fretless guitar there, developing it over the years and producing various models. He released an album called “Fretless” in Germany, which broke new ground in guitar and brought an Anatolian breath of fresh air to jazz. Erkan Oğur graduated from the Turkish State Music Conservatory, becoming a lecturer. He accompanied popular players, such as Bülent Ortaçgil, and worked as a studio musician for a period. In 1996 he composed the soundtrack for the internationally acclaimed film “Eşkıya” (The Bandit). Since 1998, his three albums, which bring contemporary interpretations to traditional music, have reached large audiences. He recorded an album with the Armenian duduk player Djivan Gasparyan. With the Telvin project in 2005, he is adding his humanity and expression to the world of jazz music. İlkin DENİZ Born in Trabzon in 196i, Ilkin took mandolin lessons in primary school, accordion in secondary school, played the electric guitar briefly during high school, and began playing the bass when no one in the school orchestra wanted to play it. Also during his high school years he studied and focused on jazz, together with Cem Aksel and Tahsin Endersoy. He has worked with many prominent jazz artists in Turkey, such as Emin Fındıkoğlu, Erol Pekcan, Neşet-Nükhet Ruacan Orchestra, Önder Focan and İmer Demirer. In 1993 he recorded the first pop-jazz album in Turkey titled JAZZBANK. He has been playing with Telvin since 1994. İlkin Deniz currently lives in the USA and has played with David Liebman at the Hollywood Jazz Festival and Richie Cole in West Palm Beach. Turgut Alp BEKOĞLU Born in 1966, Turgut’s great interest in rhythm began at a young age and turned semi-professional in high school and professional in 1983. He attended a five-month research program at the Rotterdam Conservatory, and studied and was involved in music in New York for two years. He has played on stage with Gloria Gayner, accompanied famous names in Turkey, LOCATION:DROM - 85 Avenue A (between 5th St & 6th St), New York, NY 10009 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR