Oriental Jazz Improvisation - Microtonality and Harmony

Oriental Jazz Improvisation: Microtonality and Harmony is a comprehensive comparative study exploring the incorporation of Turkish, Arabic, and North Indian scales and modes into jazz improvisation and modulation. The book presents a multitude of scales and modes from these musical traditions, along with their transpositions. These scales and modes are essential for any musician interested in South-Western Asian or North Indian music. Moreover, it delves into numerous scales and modes from other folk traditions, such as Greek rebetiko, Bulgarian wedding music, or Jewish music, highlighting parallels and similarities across these diverse musical cultures.

Each scale and mode is presented in its purest - microtonal - form, including the exact interval values in the specific tuning used in classical Turkish, Arabic, or North Indian traditions. The basics of the respective music theories are also explained. Additionally, the authentic scales and modes are transcribed into equal temperament, and practical techniques are demonstrated for applying them in a jazz context. The book further illustrates how South-Eastern European Romani and Jewish musicians employ some of these scales and modes in improvisation. It also explores how scales that may appear identical but exist under different names in various traditions are applied differently - some of which can be traced back to ancient Greece or even Babylonia.

This book will not make you a Turkish, Arabic, or Indian musician, but it will undoubtedly broaden your musical vocabulary.