Kudsi Erguner

Kudsi Erguner lives and works in Paris as musician (Ney-flute, which is a reed flute), composer, musicologist, teacher, author, and translator.

He was born February 4 of 1952 in Diyarbakir, Turkey. Erguner comes from a family of Turkish musicians. His contact with many famous musicians from the older generation, who continually passed through his parents house, and his involvement with various Sufi-brotherhoods, whose music and teachings Erguner studied, left their decisive marks on him. He received his training directly from his father, Ulvi Erguner, who was the last great master of the ney.

In 1969 he became a member of Istanbul Radio Orchestra. A few yeas later, in 1975, he moved to Paris to study in architecture and musicology.

Erguner carried out musical research in 1976 and collaborated on the filming on location in Afghanistan of Peter Brook's movie, Meetings with Remarkable Men.

In 1980 he made a research trip to Turkey, commissioned by UNESCO. A year later he founded in Paris the Mevlana Institute for the study of the classical music and teachings of the Sufis.

During 1985-88 he created original compositions, including work for Peter Brook's Mahabharata (theater piece and film).

In 1986/87 he made an expedition to Pakistan commissioned by Radio France and France Musique for the purpose of recording and documenting traditional music

The year 1988 saw the creation of the group Fasl (later the Kudsi Erguner Ensemble) with the goal of reviving the classical music repertoire of the 16th century Ottoman Empire. That same year he collaborated with Peter Gabriel on the soundtrack for Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ.

In 1991 he composed original music for Neva, a ballet by Carolyn Carlson, performed at the Théâtre de la Ville de Paris. He also provided original music in 1997 for the ballet Le Voyage Nocturne by Maurice Béjart, performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris

Kudsi Erguner's Ottomania (1999) is alleged to be the first World Music project that integrates the classical music of the Ottoman Empire with Western jazz improvisations and rhythms. It documents the story of a remarkable musical encounter, and is a logical continuation of Erguner's eventful life. "Unfortunately, 99% of the fusion music that is produced today is simply badly pasted together collages. With Ottomania, I have attempted to let a fusion really develop. It was therefore necessary for both sides to take a step towards each other. With Kudsi Erguner's ensemble on one side, and three great musicians from the international jazz scene - the German saxophonist Christof Lauer, the French tuba and serpent player Michel Godard, and the American drummer Mark Nauseef - on the other, Ottomania has successfully taken this step."

Kudsi Erguner has given concerts and played in major festivals throughout the world. He has researched the music of India, Pakistan, and Turkey, grounded diverse music ensembles, recorded numerous albums, and has worked with such well known artists as Peter Gabriel (Passion, Us), Maurice Béjart, Peter Brook, Georges Aperghis, Didier Lockwood, and Michel Portal.

Erguner has thus made authoritative contributions to World Music. He has documented and revived nearly forgotten musical traditions and brought them to the attention of the Western public, securing them a place within Europe's cultural inheritance.

World Music Central