February 27, 2002
Contact: Susan Gwynne
(805) 893-2098
e-mail: gwynne-s@sa.ucsb.edu

Masters of Turkish music Burhan Öçal and the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble to play at UCSB Campbell Hall

Summary Facts:

• Burhan Öçal and the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble
• Burhan Öçal is a peerless finger-drum player
• Musicians dedicated to preserving the musical heritage of the storied region between the Aegean and Black Seas
• Masters of Gypsy roots music
• Monday, April 8 / 8 pm
• UCSB Campbell Hall
• General: $28/$25, UCSB students: $19/$16
• Tickets/information: UCSB Arts & Lectures at 893-3535

World-renowned Turkish multi-instrumentalist and singer Burhan Öçal and his rip-roaring five-member group the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble will perform on Monday, April 8 at 8 pm in UCSB Campbell Hall. Amazon.com raves, “This luxurious, highly ornamented mixture of hand drums, kanun zither, violin, oud, and clarinet is as sumptuous as a fatty-food feast, heady as a pot of frankincense and intoxicating as a shot of 151-proof rum.” The group’s talent, love of music and undisputed technical virtuosity have allowed them to assimilate a divergent range of folk and classical forms from Greek, Jewish, Turkish and Gypsy peoples. As a meeting place for various cultural traditions, the Ensemble’s music reminds one of the Egyptian roots of the word Gypsy. Led by Öçal, who is to the darbuka (a vase-shaped finger drum) what Zakir Hussain is to the tabla, the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble leaves audiences ecstatic with its plangently percussive and richly exotic performances.

Burhan Öçal and the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble’s first two albums, Gypsy Rum and Sultan’s Secret Door scored the unusual honor of winning back-to-back Deutsche Schallpattenpreis, the German Record Critics’ Award. The group’s latest release, Caravanserai, named after the roadside inns that provided an oasis for weary travellers, continues its exhumation of forgotten Gypsy music of Thrace with roots in an older repertoire designed to pamper the Ottoman sultans. The unusual sound of the group comes from Turkish classical music having 170 to 180 different scales and 24 tones (Western music has only 12) and offset rhythms in complicated (by Western standards) time signatures like 24/4 and 45/16.

Burhan Öçal has made the bridging of musical cultures his central mission. A native of Kirklareli, near Istanbul, he grew up in a musical family. From his father he learned a variety of percussion instruments, while his mother introduced him to religious vocal music. After his first contact with Western music, he became interested in combining other genres and cultural traditions, such as jazz and Western classical music with his own. In addition to his work with the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble, he has also performed with keyboard specialist Joe Zawinul, guitarist Eliot Fisk and the George Gruntz Concert Jazz Band. His most unusual venture has been the creation of an Oriental/Funk/Hip-Hop band with the American bass player Jamaladeen Tacuma. In 2001 he joined the Kronos Quartet for a series of performances in the United States of a work he wrote especially for them.

Burhan Öçal’s instruments are as diverse as his music. He is most noted for his mastery of a wide variety of percussion, such as the darbuka, kös (kettledrum), kudüm (a small kettledrum played in pairs with sticks) and bendi (tambourine). He is also a highly skilled player on a number of stringed instruments of the lute family, including the saz (which is long-necked), tanbur (which often is used to provide a rhythmic drone accompaniment) and oud (which is used as a primary instrument). His expressive voice adds to the spectrum of musical elements at his command. About his wide-ranging talents and interests, Öçal has been quoted in an interview claiming, “I love music. I love action. I went to a Turkish classical conservatoire for a couple of weeks; I was bored. I went to a jazz academy in Switzerland and it was boring too. I am not classical or folk or rock or jazz, I am just following my instincts.”

On the evening of the performance concertgoers may enhance their experience by attending a tasty Turkish buffet served by the UCSB Faculty Club at 6 p.m. Cost is $18 per person; reservations must be made by April 1 by calling 893.3096. This performance of Burhan Öçal and the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures and sponsored by KCBX Public Radio and the Center for Middle East Studies. This residency is funded in part by the California Arts Council, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Tickets are $28 and $25 for the general public and $19 and $16 for UCSB students.

For tickets or more information,
call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535.

Editor: For photos, please call
Susan Gwynne at (805) 893-2098.