Orhan Demir

Who is Orhan Demir?

Orhan Demir is a Canadian jazz guitarist. He has released several albums. Here is some reviews from Guitar World and Down Beat. "As Time Goes on & North West" Orhan Demir is an incredible, even legendary guitarist who must be heard to be believed. On these two Canadian releases, his uncanny facility, mindboggling speed and clean execution bring to mind such greats as Django Reinheart, Tal Farlow, Pat Martino and John McLaughlin. Add to that a passionate intensity and Coltrane - like conviction, and you have one amazing plectorist. Both these albums feature Orhan's originals and highlight his stunning technique in a number of settings, each one bristling with vitality and fertile ideas. Acoustic bassist Neil Swainson's big, round tone anchors this trio as Barry Elmes traverses his kit like a Canadian Elvin Jones, colouring each tune with a melodic approach that implies the beat rather than stating it. On "The Way I See You" Demir and company charge out of the gate with a vengeance. The opener, "As Time Goes On", is an incredible, up-tempo burner - six and a half minutes of mind - boggling chops over a relentlessly swinging rhythm section. On the title cut, a more arranged affair with occasional bass/guitar unison lines. Demir floats over a walking, mid-tempo loose bop groove, interjecting staccato bursts of single notes that strike like machine - gun fire. And on "In Favour", a melancholy meditation. Elmes' gentle brushwork paints a dreamy landscape as Demir chords the melody with lush textures from his warm sounding Gibson hollow-body. On the flip side, the trio explores some lofty territory on "Allah Supreme," a super up tempo vehicle recalling the energy and heightened playing of John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme." Demir's quicksilver lines fly by in a blur, in the vein of Coltrane's fabled "sheets of sound." And on the unaccompanied "Improvisation," the guitarist displays incredible right-hand picking technique, frantically skipping strings while simultaneously shaping the piece with orchestral voicings. "North West" is no less impressive, with its hyper-speed, Tal Farlow-type fretboard flash on "Joy," Mid-Eastern scales on the sensitive ballad, "Swainsong," and more Flight- Of -The-Bumble-Bee single note lines on the Latin groove of "Satellite Service." Demir's sheer command of the instrument is astonishing, and spurred by the interplay of his cohorts, he reaches some breathtaking heights.by Bill Milkowski.