Şehrazat

Şehrazat — Biography

Şehrazat Kemali Söylemezoğlu (born 3 September 1952 in Ankara), known simply as Şehrazat or Şehro, is a Turkish lyricist, composer, record producer and jazz-pop singer. Her father, Sihamettin Kemali Söylemezoğlu, was regarded as Turkey's first mining magnate, while her mother Sevinç Tevs is considered the first Turkish jazz singer to achieve international recognition. Her family background includes Ottoman pashas, diplomats and the classical composer Dede Efendi among her ancestors.

She spent most of her childhood in İzmir before her family sent her to Beirut for a better education, graduating from the International School of Choueifat in 1970. Having lived in Beirut for nine years, she understands Arabic and is fluent in Turkish, English and French.

She began her music career in the late 1960s with arrangement records such as İki Gölge, and between 1975 and 1987 performed as a soloist at Istanbul's most exclusive venues. Her greatest fame, however, came as a songwriter for other artists: Yaz Yaz Yaz, sung by Ajda Pekkan, was her first major hit and opened a new chapter in Turkish pop music. She also wrote and produced Demet Sağıroğlu's signature song Kınalı Bebek. In 2004 she celebrated thirty years as a composer with the gala concert "Şehrazat Şarkıları" in Istanbul, donating its proceeds to the TSK Elele Foundation.