Bozkurt İlham Osman Gencer (30 August 1921 – 24 May 2023) was a Turkish jazz pianist, singer and composer.

Life and career

child prodigy A child prodigy is, technically, a child under the age of 10 who produces meaningful work in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to describe young people who are extraordinarily talented in some f ...

, İlham started playing piano as a child under the guidance of his mother, and never received any formal musical training. He held his first concert and made his first composition ''İlham Vals'' when he was 5 years old. He started his professional career in 1944, and between 1949 and 1963 he hosted several musical programs on . In 1960 İlham opened a popular night club in the Istanbul district of

Şişli Şişli () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 10 km2, and its population is 276,528 (2022). Located on the European side of the city, it is bordered by Beşiktaş ...

, the ''Çatı Club'', where he contributed to launch the careers of several singers and musicians. His 1961 song "Bak Bir Varmış Bir Yokmuş", a cover of

Bob Azzam Wadie George Azzam, better known by his stage name Bob Azzam, (24 October 1925 in Alexandria – 26 July 2004 in Monaco) was an Egyptian born singer with Lebanese origins. With his hit song " Ya Mustafa", created and composed by Egyptian music ...

's "C'est écrit dans le Ciel", is regarded as the first pop song recorded in Turkish language. In 2018, he was the subject of a biography, ''Bozkurt İlhami Gencer'le Sanat ve Siyaset Bir Bir Birada'' ("Art and politics at the same time with Bozkurt İlhami Gencer") written by Sami Coşkun.

Personal life

Between 1953 and 1960 İlham was married to singer

Ayten Alpman Ayten Alpman (10 October 1929 – 20 April 2012) was a Turkish jazz and pop singer who gained fame in the 1970s with the song "''Memleketim''" ("My Country") during the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation. Biography Born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1929 ...

, with whom he had two children. He later remarried to a woman named Necla, with whom he had a son, Bora, who is also a musician.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gencer, Ilham 1921 births 2023 deaths People from Muğla Musicians from Istanbul Turkish jazz pianists Turkish pop musicians Turkish jazz musicians Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery