Omer Faruk Tekbilek ( tr, Ömer Faruk Tekbilek, born 1951) is a Turkish musician and composer, who plays a wide range of wind, string, percussion and electronic instruments. He has developed a style that builds on traditional

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

music, but includes inspiration from ambient electronic musicians, most notably

Brian Keane Brian Keane (born January 18, 1953) is a multi Emmy and Grammy award-winning American composer, music producer, and guitarist. Keane has been described as "a musician's musician, a composer's composer, and one of the most talented producers of a ...

. He is best known for his performances with the flute-like

ney The ''ney'' ( fa, Ney/نی, ar, Al-Nāy/الناي), is an end-blown flute that figures prominently in Persian music and Arabic music. In some of these musical traditions, it is the only wind instrument used. The ney has been played continually ...

, but also plays the piccolo-like

kaval The kaval is a chromatic end-blown flute traditionally played throughout the Balkans (in Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Southern Serbia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Northern Greece, and elsewhere) and Anatolia (including Turkey and Armenia). The ka ...

, and the double-reed

zurna The zurna (Armenian language, Armenian: զուռնա zuṙna; Classical Armenian, Old Armenian: սուռնայ suṙnay; Albanian language, Albanian: surle/surla; Persian language, Persian: karna/Kornay/surnay; Macedonian language, Macedonian: з ...

. Among stringed instruments, he plays the

oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= * String instruments *Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum , ...

and the

bağlama The ''bağlama'' or ''saz'' is a family of plucked string instruments, long-necked lutes used in Ottoman classical music, Turkish folk music, Turkish Arabesque music, Azerbaijani music, Kurdish music, Armenian music and in parts of Syria, Iraq ...

Personal life

Tekbilek's father was a Turk, a religious man who called out the prayers during services in a mosque. His mother was from

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, and her love of the music of

Riad Al Sunbati Riad Mohamed El Sunbati ( arz, رياض محمد السنباطي), also written as Riad Sonbati or Riadh Sonbati (30 November 1906 – 10 September 1981) was a 20th-century Egyptian composer and musician who was considered an icon of Egyptian Mu ...

was passed to her son, who grew up loving

Arabesque The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foli ...

music. As a young man, Faruk had studied Sufism and had thought of devoting his life to this mystical branch of Islam. At age 15, he decided to become a professional musician, and quit school. With his brother, he moved to

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, where he befriended a mystical saxophone player named Ismet Siral, who had developed an approach to music based upon intuition: "He would say things like, let's play for birds, let's play for pictures". In 1971, Tekbilek toured the United States with a Turkish folk ensemble and met his future wife. After completing his compulsory military service in Turkey, Tekbilek returned to America and found few opportunities for a musician of his training. He worked in an apparel factory in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

during the week and played with a band called the "Sultans" during his free time; the band was formed with his brother-in-law and a variety of musicians with roots in the eastern Mediterranean. Initially, the band focused on pop, but it soon moved to music with an eastern Mediterranean sound, where Tekbilek could exercise his talents. Over the next 12 years, Tekbilek honed his craft and had three children, continuing to work in an apparel factory. But in 1988, he was "discovered" by

at (Fazil's night club in midtown Manhattan, owner of Fazil's Dance Studios

Fazil Cengiz Fazil may refer to: Given name * Fazil (director) (born 1953), Indian filmmaker, producer and screenwriter * Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha (1635–1676), Ottoman grand vizier * Necip Fazıl Kısakürek (1904–1983), Turkish poet and activist * Fa ...

.) who was looking for a specific sound to include in his soundtrack for the movie
Suleyman The Magnificent
'. Keane became Tekbilek's producer, and gradually Tekbilek became better known. Since 2010, Tekbilek has become well known in his native Turkey and all around the world.

Projects with other musicians

In August 2011 the album "Rock the Tabla" was released featuring Omer Faruk Tekbilek,

A. R. Rahman Allah Rakha Rahman (; born A. S. Dileep Kumar; 6 January 1967) is an Indian music composer, record producer, singer and songwriter, popular for his works in Indian cinema; predominantly in Tamil and Hindi films, with occasional forays in int ...

, Hossam Ramzy, Billy Cobham & Manu Katché.

Discography

#''The Sultans Middle Eastern Band Vol 1'' (1981) #''The Sultans Middle Eastern Band Vol 2'' (1982) #''Best of Sultans'' (1986) #''Suleyman The Magnificent'' (1988) #''Fire Dance'' (1990) #''Beyond The Sky'' (1992) #''Whirling'' (1994) #''Fata Morgana'' (1995) #''Mystical Garden'' (1996) #''Crescent Moon'' (1998) #''One Truth'' (1999, World Class/

Hearts of Space Records Hearts of Space Records is a record label owned by Valley Entertainment. The label represents several sublabels, including Hearts of Space, Hearts O'Space, Fathom, RGB, and World Class. History Hearts of Space Records was founded in 1984 as an ...

) #''Dance into Eternity: Selected Pieces 1987–1998'' (2000) #''Alif'' (2002) #''Tree Of Patience'' (2005) #''Rare Elements (Remixes)'' (2009) #''Kelebek (Butterfly)'' (2009

#''Best of Omar Faruk Tekbilek “Longing” (2010) '

#''Sound of Istanbul'', Vol. 1 (2011) #''Dance for Peace "Sufi Selections of OMAR FARUK TEKBILEK"'' (2011

#''The Meeting of The Legends "Askin Project"'' (2012

#''Love Is My Religion'' (2016)

References

External links

*
Short biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tekbilek, Omar Faruk 1951 births Living people Performers of Sufi music Turkish flautists People from Adana

Personal life

Projects with other musicians

Discography

See also

References

External links