Orhan Demir (; born 1954 in Istanbul, Turkey) is a Canadian jazz guitarist. His first release, in 1986, was The Way I See You; his second release, in 1987, was North West; the third album was 1989's Windmill; in 1990 he released the solo acoustic album Sultan of Strings, followed by Hot Cargo (1993), Originals (1997), Guitar Plus (1998), Originals Vol. 2 (2018), Freedom in Jazz (2019), Freedom in Jazz Vol. 2 (2020), and the Ziggurat DVD (2021). Orhan Demir recordings received great reviews from Jazz Times, Down Beat, Guitar World, Cadence, Options, Coda, Jazz Journal and others.
Brief Biography Demir, born September 29, 1954, in Istanbul, immigrated to Canada in 1977. His albums were cited by respected magazines such as DownBeat.
Orhan Demir's style is an interesting blend of Be-Bop rhythms set against a middle-eastern scale played with a fast picking technique. He has been compared to Django Reinhardt.
Musicians Orhan Demir - guitar Neil Swainson - acoustic bass Barry Elmes - drums Rick Lazaroff - electric bass Jack Vorvis - drums Thomas Oreynicki - bass Francois Briere - t. saxophone Perry Pansieri - drums
Selected discography The Way I See You (1986) Northwest (1988) Windmill (1989) Sultan Of Strings (1990) Hot Cargo (1993) Guitar Plus (1998) Originals (1997) Originals Vol.2, (2018) Freedom in Jazz, (2019) Freedom in Jazz, Vol.2 (2020) Ziggurat in 2021. Freedom in Jazz, Vol. 3 (2023). Wicked Demon (2025) References
External Links:
Orhan Demir's Official Website: http://orhandemir.org Barry Elmes Cornerstone Records artist page Neil Swainson Roadhouse Records artist page