Clarinet virtuoso of Turkey's Roma music dies

ISTANBUL

Selim Sesler was one of the most recognizable figures in contemporary Romani music in Turkey.

Selim Sesler, a clarinet virtuoso of Romani music, died in hospital in Istanbul at the age of 57 on May 10.

Sesler, who was being treated for heart problems, was a leading figure incontemporary Romani, or Roman, music in Turkey.

"At the corner, Selim Sesler, a stocky man with vivacious blue-brown eyes plays the clarinet with his band accompanying him. The unassuming and smiling Sesler, hailed as “the Coltrane of the clarinet” by the Guardian writer Fiachra Gibbons, started to draw the attention of foreigners even before he became known in Turkey. Word of his talent has been spreading, and he has already held concerts in Canada, London, New York, and Chicago," Yasemin Sim Esmen had written in 2007 for Hürriyet Daily News.

Click here to read about Sesler's "slow and arduous rise to fame."

Sesler gained special prominence after appearing in two Fatih Akın films, "Crossing the Bridge" and "Head On."