Hüsnü Senlendirici was born on 12 July 1976, in Bergama, a small town in the Aegean region. Coming from a family deeply rooted in musical traditions (his grandfather, Hüsnü Senlendirici, used to play the clarinet and trumpet; his other grandfather, Fahrettin Köfeci, the clarinet; and his recently deceased father, Ergün Senlendirici, the trumpet), he immediately became fascinated by music and started playing the clarinet when he was only five. After taking off to a musical journey where he was introduced to various cultures in Anatolia, and particularly to his Aegean homeland musical traditions. He attended the Turkish Music State Conservatory at Istanbul Technical University in 1988 to study music. But Senlendirici didn’t spend much time there and dropped out after 4 years of education.
In those years, he started playing with the famous Magnetic Band, a band put together by the master percussionist Okay Temiz, appearing in hundreds of festivals and becoming a musical ambassador of his country. He took part in the recordings of internationally known band, Embrio and went on tours together. In the meantime, he performed in outstanding festivals abroad with his father’s sextet, Laço. After quitting school, he accompanied various leading Turkish artists both on stage and during recordings. He played with distinguished Turkish musicians and bands including Özdemir Erdogan, Muazzez Abaci, Bülent Ersoy, Müslüm Gürses, Kibariye, Fatih Kisaparmak, Zara, Kubat, Kayahan, Seda Sayan, Emel Sayin, Adnan Senses, Zerrin Özer, Cengiz Kurtoglu, Candan Erçetin, Fatih Erkoç, Serdar Ortaç, Athena, Izel, Ayna, Hande Yener, Hasan Cihat Örter, Ilhan Ersahin, Mercan Dede and many others. Following a proposal he received from Pozitif while still serving in the military, Senlendirici formed his present band, Laço Tayfa and collaborated with the famous American ensemble, Brooklyn Funk Essentials, for an album and a concert project. The resulting album, “In the Buzbag”, was highly acclaimed by critics. Right after this success, the group originally consisting of 13 members was reduced to an octette and their first solo album “Bergama Gaydasi” was released in 2000 by Doublemoon Records. This album was also published worldwide by the famous ethnic music record company, Traditional Crossroads. Then came a series of concerts, both at home and abroad.
Senlendirici also founded a quintet called “Hüsnü Senlendirici and Friends” in order to carry Turkish music to wider audiences. He performed in numerous concerts with both of his groups within and outside Turkey. These included concerts like EXPO-2001 in Germany, supported by the Turkish Ministry of Tourism; New York, Central Park concert within the framework of Mayfest festival 2002; and the concerts he gave, in July 2002, with his 35 member Laço Tayfa Big Band during Istanbul Jazz Festival…
In the meanwhile, Senlendirici and his group Laço Tayfa released his new album “Hicaz Dolap” in October 2002. He also composed and arranged the tracks of a TV serial still being shot by Yavuz Turgul and Mustafa Oguz.
Hüsnü Senlendirici accompanied Kubat and Belkis Akkale within the framework of “Anatolian Sun” which was financed by the Turkish Prime Ministry Promotion Fund and the Ministry of Culture. He also performed at the St. Irene Museum together with the Cemal Resit Rey and the Adana Symphony orchestras. In July 2004, Hüsnü Senlendirici has performed at Cemil Topuzlu Open Air Theatre with Laço Tayfa & Vassilis Saleas.
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