Ayten Alpman (1929-2012)
Born in 1929 in Istanbul Ayten Alpman first became acquianted with music during high school years thanks to İlhan Gencer. After completing her high school education she began performing songs in English with Gencer as his vocalist in Istanbul radio. The first song she sang in the radio was “You Are Always In My Heart.” She first got on the stage in Taksim Municipal Casino and there meeting with Arif Mardin she began to perform jazz songs. After performing in various casinos and hotels for several years, she produced her first record “Sayanora/Passion Flower” in 1959. At the beginning of the 1960’s she joined İsmet Sıral Orchestra with which she went abroad to perform jazz music in various festivals and concerts. On her return to Turkey she began performing in Turkish and released her first Turkish record “İnan Bana/Ayrıldık Yalnızım” in 1968. In addition to the records she also produced two long play albums. Now Ada Music brings together this unforgettable voice of Turkish music with her listeners via a compilation album consisting her best-loved songs as a part of the “Old 45’s” series. Although Alpman does not carry on her professional music life, she continues her performances with occassional jazz concerts.