Burhan Öcal

Burhan Öcal — Biography

Born on April 25, 1959, in Kırklareli, Burhan Öçal is the son of an amateur drummer who ran a cinema and theater in Istanbul and had founded one of the country's first jazz ensembles; introduced to classical Turkish music by his mother and to jazz by his father, he began playing drums at fourteen. After finishing middle school in Kırklareli and high school in Ankara, he studied at the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory, and in 1979 he made his first appearance before a Western European audience at the Zurich Poetry Festival. He spent more than two decades based in Switzerland, working with Pierre Favre; George Gruntz brought him into his concert ensemble, while Peter Giger involved him in his "Percussion Family" projects.

He went on to found several groups, most notably the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble, releasing albums such as "Orient Secret" with musicians including Yurdal Tokcan, Göksel Baktagir and Selim Güler, and collaborated with artists such as Maria João, Joe Zawinul, Sting, Natacha Atlas, Steve Swallow and Saadet Türköz. Besides Turkish percussion instruments, he also plays the oud and saz; in 1992 he recorded the album Karadeniz (Black Sea) with Crimean Tatar guitarist Enver İzmailov. A musical documentary about him, "A Musical Homecoming" (2003) by Nedim Hazar, aired on Turkish television.

Alongside his music career, Öçal has also worked as an actor, appearing in productions such as the "Türkler Çıldırmış Olmalı" film series and the series "Şahsiyet." He performs classical piano and Turkish percussion programs with pianist Alexey Botvinov and continues his artistic career from his base in Istanbul.