Fatih Erkoç

Fatih Erkoç — Biography

The son of oud musician Hasan Erkoç, Fatih Erkoç began playing music with a violin given to him at age three and trained in trombone, piano and double bass at the Istanbul Municipality Conservatory. Before finishing his studies he joined the İstanbul Gelişim Orkestrası, appearing on its 1971 album Nihayet, later played trombone with the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, and spent over a decade performing in Norway. After returning to Turkey in 1986 he won the Kuşadası Golden Dove song contest twice, with Yol Verin A Dostlar and Sen ve Ben, and completed his conservatory education around this time. From 1987 he released a long string of albums, among them Ellerim Bomboş, Kardelen and Kör Randevu, the last of which included a rendition of Elveda Ey Gençlik, written by his father. He received a special contribution award at the 2008 Golden Butterfly ceremony and a lifetime achievement award at the 2017 Istanbul Jazz Festival. He has spoken publicly about overcoming cancer and, later, a heart attack, after which he said he changed his way of life. He has continued performing into the 2020s, including a January 2026 concert of Dario Moreno songs at CSO Ada in Ankara.