Quick Facts
Biography
Ali Ekber Çiçek (1935 – 26 April 2006) was a Turkish musician.
Çiçek was born in Erzincan, Turkey. His father died in a disastrous earthquake, and his mother suffered financial problems that made it impossible for her to support his education. Nevertheless, he attended Alevi gatherings called Cems, where he became familiar with both playing baglama and the philosophy of Alevis.
He moved to İstanbul and there made acquaintance with popular folk musicians. After completing mandatory military service, he was given the opportunity by Muzaffer Sarısözen to perform on state-operated TRTradio broadcast services in Ankara, where he remained until retirement.
TRT produced a documentary in 2003 about his life and his music. The documentary presents his work as part of the Anatolian folk tradition and was intended to broaden his influence.
One of his most noted songs is "Haydar Haydar", which took him approximately seven years to master. It is said that Ali Ekber asked himself, with regard to this song, "What did I do!" The song is often considered the pinnacle of symphonic Turkish folk music. It is the only song that sounds like it is played by two baglamas.
He was married to famous Turkish folk music singer Cemile Cevher Çiçek.