Selcuk Sun (20 February 1934-22 March 2016) was a Turkish

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

player and one of the most significant

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

musicians in Turkey. He was born on 20 February 1934 in

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, ...

. He graduated from

Ankara State Conservatory The Hacettepe University Ankara State Conservatory ( tr, Hacettepe Üniversitesi Ankara Devlet Konservatuvarı), the first conservatory to be founded in the Republic of Turkey, was established in 1936 by a directive of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Th ...

and went on to pursue his interest in jazz music. He met Muvaffak "Maffy" Falay whom he played with. Later he worked with

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

(during his world tour in 1956), Phil Woods, Joe Gordan,

Frank Rehak Frank Rehak (July 6, 1926, in New York City – June 22, 1987 Badger, California) was an American jazz trombonist. He began on piano and cello before switching to trombone. He worked with Gil Evans and Miles Davis. He also appeared with Davis on t ...

, Ernie Wilkens and Quincy Jones. During

Dave Brubeck David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...

's tour in Europe and Asia, Selcuk Sun played with the

Quartet in Ankara in 1958. He received a Scholarship from the Berklee School of Music, but could not attend due to his military service. In the early 1960s he lived in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. In Copenhagen he lived for six months and played at the Jazzhus Montmartre with the pianist

Bud Powell Earl Rudolph "Bud" Powell (September 27, 1924 – July 31, 1966) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Along with Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke and Dizzy Gillespie, Powell was a leading figure in the development of modern ...

and the tenor saxophonist Lucky Thompson. The same year he came second at the "Young Double Bassists" Competition after Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen in Stockholm. While Don Cherry's stay in Ankara in 1969, Selcuk Sun along with Muvaffak "Maffy" Falay, Irfan Sümer and Okay Temiz on drums, held a concert. It was recorded at the American embassy and later released by Sonet Records as "Live Ankara". In 1962 he married his Norwegian wife and returned to Turkey. He joined the

Presidential Symphony Orchestra The Presidential Symphony Orchestra ( tr, Cumhurbaşkanlığı Senfoni Orkestrası), with headquarters in Ankara, is the presidential symphony orchestra of the Republic of Turkey. Its history dates back as far as 1826, making it one of the first s ...

and retired in 1980. Since then he has held several concerts and played on numerous festivals. In 2006 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the

Istanbul International Jazz Festival The Istanbul Jazz Festival, formerly Istanbul Festival, ( tr, İstanbul Caz Festivali) is a cultural event held every July in Istanbul, Turkey. It offers a selection of jazz music performances with the participations of famous artists from all ove ...

References

External links

*This is our music- Free jazz, the sixties, and American culture. By Iain Anderson. Page 20. 2007 *http://www.greenleafmusic.com/don-cherry-the-dozens *http://www.turkishairlines.com/en-kw/skylife/makaleler/2010/july/turkiyede-caz {{DEFAULTSORT:Sun, Selcuk 1934 births 2016 deaths Turkish jazz double-bassists Male double-bassists Ankara State Conservatory alumni Male jazz musicians