Erkan Ogur: Father Of Fretless

At the cheerful sidewalk cafe in the European district of Istanbul, Erkan talked of his love for music and how blissfully it consumes his life. Erkan Ogur, 57, is widely respected in Turkey and internationally, as a musician and creator of the fretless guitar. He has influenced many musicians with his compositions of Turkish folk music combined with jazz and blues elements. He has played concerts all over Turkey and the world and is regarded as a master of the kopuz and ba lama lutes. As we shared stories blended with the aroma of Turkish coffee, Ogur, picked up his kopuz and played wisps of music that magically erased the sound of afternoon traffic with its quiet melody.