Hakan Ali Toker

Hakan's interest in music began at an early age, messing around with a keyboard and picking-up tunes by ear. He studied classical music formally in Turkey and USA (Indiana University), while teaching himself to improvise in many styles. Between 1997-2006 he was active in the USA, working with the bands Salaam, Silk Road, Orquesta Son and Qwertyt; also playing classical and improvised recitals, music for silent films etc. In 2006 he went back to Turkey and worked with Tanini, Yıldız İbrahimova, Abra etc. In 2013 he was given “Our Living Values” award by the 1st. Mersin Cultural Festival. He won the Global Music Awards Silver Medal (USA) with three albums: 2017, “Vivaldi - 4 Seasons for 3 Pianos” (Parma) with Matej Meštrović and Matija Dedić 2019 "Toker Messing Around" (Parma) 2020 "Taurus Mountains" (Pb Music) Hakan has been well acclaimed for his work in the fields of world music and classical improvisation –the latter being an endangered tradition. His albums “Alla Turca Alla Toker” (2012, MCC) testifies for his accomplishments in the former, while “Toker Messing Around” (2019, Parma/Navona) testifies for the latter. His album “Şehir Hayatı” (2018, YeniKapı) has been chosen for the "Jazz from Turkey 2010s" playlist by leading jazz critics of Turkey. Nowadays Hakan enjoys taking commissions and composing on people's birthdates and anniversaries, turning numbers to notes, which make great gifts on special days;) More info: http://hakanalitoker.com/gifts.html