Mustafa Kandıralı

Mustafa Kandıralı — Biography

Mustafa Kandıralı, born Mustafa Kadıoğlu, was one of Turkey's best-known clarinet masters. He played classical Turkish art music, Turkish folk music and Romani music, and won worldwide fame through a concert tour of the United States in the 1960s. He died in the Tuzla district of Istanbul on 27 December 2020 at the age of 90, and his death was widely covered in the press.

He received his musical training in his home town of Kandıra at his father's wish, and at the age of thirteen ran away from home and walked to Istanbul. In the 1950s he began playing Turkish folk music and developed a style of his own, built mainly on Romani music and carrying Western influences. He accompanied great voices such as Safiye Ayla, Müzeyyen Senar and Zeki Müren, and in 1954 he improvised on stage with Louis Armstrong. For about twenty years he was a familiar sound on holiday mornings through his programmes on TRT.

Over a career of more than fifty years he released about 150 records and 20 cassettes, and played at several jazz festivals abroad. He is remembered in the music world for his cheerful temperament and his respect for his colleagues. He passed the clarinet tradition on to his niece Türkan Kandıralı. His name lives on after his death: memorial events are held in Kocaeli, and a fine arts high school in Beyoğlu bears his name.