Ayten Alpman

Ayten Alpman — Biography

Ayten Alpman (20 November 1931, Istanbul - 20 April 2012, Istanbul) was a Turkish jazz and pop singer. She was among the first generation of jazz vocalists in her country and became widely known in 1974 through her song Bir Başkadır Benim Memleketim. Sources also give her date of birth as 20 November 1930 or 10 October 1929, and some place her birth in the Yeşilköy district of Istanbul.

She studied at Erenköy Girls' High School. After finishing school she began working as a soloist at Istanbul Radio at the invitation of the musician İlham Gencer; her first performance on the radio was the song You Are Always In My Heart. During her radio years she stood out with her jazz repertoire and became one of the leading jazz interpreters of the period.

Her recording work picked up pace at the end of the 1960s. The singles Kim Demiş Aşk Yalandır Diye, Beni Unutma / Hakkın Yok, İnan Bana / Ayrıldık Yalnızım and Sensiz Olamam appeared in 1969, and Hayal / Çağırdın Sana Koştum in 1971. In these years she developed a style that combined her jazz background with Turkish-language pop music.

Bir Başkadır Benim Memleketim, released in 1970, drew enormous attention during the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation, placing her among the best-known singers of the era and becoming the song she was identified with. In the same years she released the albums Memleketim (1974) and Ben Böyleyim (1976), along with singles such as Yanımda Olsa / İstersen (1974), Birazcık Umut / Kimbilir Kim Var Yanında (1975) and Son Bir Defa / Neden Sanki Bu Dünya Dar Geliyor İnsana (1977).

In later years her old recordings were presented to listeners again on compilations such as Türk Pop Tarihi Eski 45'likler (1999) and Ayten Alpman Klasikleri, and the album Bir Başkadır Ayten Alpman was released in 2007. Ayten Alpman died in Istanbul on 20 April 2012. Her recordings continued to be reissued in new arrangements after her death, among them Bir Başkadır Ayten Alpman (Chill Out Mix 2021).