Aka Gündüz Kutbay (August 17, 1934, Istanbul - August 27, 1979, Istanbulaka gunduz kutbay – Private Sozluk
/ref>), was a leading Turkish ''

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 ...

'' (oblique rim-blown reed flute) player of the 1960s and 1970s, known for his traditional sound, deep tones (''dem sesleri''), and interest in jazz,

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

, Indian, and other world musics. Kutbay was a staff musician for many years at Radio Istanbul, where he considered himself a follower of Ulvi Erguner (Director of Turkish Music) and Ulvi's father, the noted Süleyman Erguner ("Dede"). Kutbay taught ney at the prestigious Turkish Music National Conservatory in Istanbul (İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi Türk Musiki Devlet Konservatuarı) from about 1973 to 1979. He served as Head Ney Player (''Neyzenbaşı'') at the Mevlana Festival in Konya in the early 1970s and led the first North American tour of the Mevlevi Dervishes in 1972 together with Ulvi Erguner. In Turkey, Aras record label published LPs of his and in the US,

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

produced "Music of the Whirling Dervishes" LP (re-released later on CD) featuring Kutbay and

Kâni Karaca Kâni Karaca (1930 – May 29, 2004) was a Turkish singer. Born in Adana, Turkey, he lost his eyesight at the age of 2 and memorized the Quran in elementary school. He came to Istanbul in 1950. He worked with Sadettin Heper Sadettin Heper (1899 ...

. Playasound/Auvidis released a CD in 1991 of solo improvisations (''taksimler'') by Kutbay; the longest of these lasts an extraordinary twenty-three minutes. He appears onscreen briefly playing ney at the beginning of Peter Brook's

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

film, " Meetings with Remarkable Men".

Audio selection

Short excerpt of improvisation (''taksim'') by Kutbay
1.2MB, MP3, 1:17 duration
Short excerpt of deep tones (''dem sesleri'') by Kutbay
1.2MB, mp3, 1:17 duration

Notes

External links

* * 1934 births 1979 deaths Atlantic Records artists Performers of Sufi music Turkish musicians Composers of Ottoman classical music Composers of Turkish makam music Musicians of Ottoman classical music Musicians of Turkish makam music {{Turkey-musician-stub