Akagündüz Kutbay

Akagündüz Kutbay — Biography

Akagündüz Kutbay (August 17, 1934 - August 27, 1979) was one of the most respected Turkish ney players of the twentieth century, admired for a traditional, deep-toned style that also drew on his curiosity about jazz and other world musical traditions.

He spent much of his career as a staff musician at Istanbul Radio and regarded himself as a disciple of Turkish music director Ulvi Erguner and Ulvi's father, Süleyman "Dede" Erguner. From around 1973 until his death in 1979 he taught ney at the Istanbul Technical University State Conservatory for Turkish Music, served as head ney player (neyzenbaşı) at the Mevlana Festival in Konya in the early 1970s, and in 1972 helped lead the first North American tour of the Mevlevi dervishes alongside Ulvi Erguner.

His recordings were released in Turkey on the Aras label, and in the United States he appeared on Atlantic Records' Music of the Whirling Dervishes together with singer Kâni Karaca. A 1991 Playasound/Auvidis release gathered his solo taksim improvisations, the longest running twenty-three minutes, and he can briefly be seen playing ney in the opening of Peter Brook's 1979 film Meetings with Remarkable Men.