Behsat Uvez

For many years Behsat Üvez worked with a number of dance groups and orchestras in Turkey. He was an instrumentalist and soloist with the Ankara State Ensemble for nine years, and the musical leader of the folkloristic dance and music ensemble Tüfem in Ankara. With these two groups he travelled all over the world, propagating Turkish music. Since 1989 he has worked as a musician/composer and music teacher in the Netherlands. Behsat is both singer/composer/song writer and multi-instrumentalist. He plays the baglama (saz), cura, tar, kabak kemane (knee viol), violin, cümbüs (fretless lute), ud, mandolin en various percussion instruments. His expertise lies in Turkish, Balkan and Mediterranean music. Apart from solo- performances, he played in Orient Express, Ano Kato (Greek music), Cafe Barana and the Hasan Band. He has also participated in a great many experimental and international projects, such as Female Factory (1998, 1999 and 2000), 5-May project with the Metropol Orchestra (1998), Music Meeting (Nijmegen, 2000), Foundation Jazz Utrecht (2000-2001), the Culture Factory Amsterdam (1999-2000), Foundation Kulsan (2000), Circus Colourful City in Nijmegen (2001), Global Village Orchestra (2001 to present) and festival “Klap op de Vuurpijl”-NPS/Radio 4 with Alan Laurrilard`s Seafood plus (December 2001), Raiz met Fernando Lamerinihas (February 2003), Made in Holland (September, October 2003), Jasser Opera (2006)After receiving a composition assignment from the Foundation Music Meeting in 2002, Behsat and the clarinettist Steven Kamperman founded the innovating and very successful project ensemble Barana & Co. This speech-making ensemble performed at well-known Jazz and World music festivals like the Music Meeting Nijmegen (November 2002), SJU Jazz festival Utrecht (April 2003) and the VPRO festival Amsterdam (July 2003). Apart from teaching saz, Turkish percussion and singing at the Groningen Schools of Music, Behsat coordinates short-term activities at the Groningen School of Music. Both in the Netherlands and abroad he is much in demand as a performing musician and workshop leader.///////////////////////////////////////////////////// ///////////////////////////////1959 Ankara dogumluyum, Turkiye de Halkevleri, Tufem ve Devlet Halk Danslari Toplulugunda uzun yillar solist ve orkestra uyesi olarak calistim. Ankara Universitesi Siyasal Bilgiler fakultesi mezunuyum, universite yillarinda surekli gittigim yurtdisi turnelerinde diger kulturlere karsi buyuk ilgi duymaya basladim. Pink Floyd, Uriah Heep, Osibisa, Suzy Quatro donemleri, Turk muzigini Ruacan'lar, Otenel'ler Oguz Atay'lar, Sabahattin Ali'ler, Can Yucel'ler ve Abidin Dino'larla harmanlamayla gecti. 1989 da Hollandaýa yerlestim ve tum agirligi muzige vermeye basladim. Burada Jazz'in buyuk kucaginda bagajimdaki muzige da yer oldugunu fark ettim. Orient Express'ile 10 yil icinde 2 CD ortaya cikti (Alora ve Kara Tren), Ano Kato'da Yunan muziginin karsi sahiline gidip geldim. Metropol Orkestrasinda Yulduz Usmanova'ya eslik ettim, Seafood Plus ta Alan Laurillard'la bass-drum, elektronik ve bilgisayara ud ve gazel yerlestirdim. Sonra buyuk ticari projeler de geldi, Made in Holland ve Female Factory. 2002 yilinda Music Meetingín bana verdigi kompoziyon odevi sonucu Barana Projesi ortaya cikti. Jazz Klarnetcisi Steven Kamperman'la birlikte 2002 den bu yana yuruttugum Barana Projesi icerisinde 2 CD yaptik. "Live at the Music Meeting"2003, Ileriye Anilar 2006. Barana Trio ile kayitlari ve mixi biten Gul ve Bulbul , Modes et Maqams CD leri de 2007 de cikacak. Su an aktif olarak Barana & Co, Barana Trio, Carlama Orkestar, Global Village Orchestra da calisiyorum. Studyo muzisyeni olatrak da Rob de Nijs, Doly Dots gibi sarkici ve gruplarla calistim. Turkiye'de sadece bir kez 2005 te Akbank Jazz de, Babylon da caldik, umarim gerisi de gelir. Buralarda yazdigim sarkilarin sozlerini anlatmak biraz zor oluyor da....