Moondog - Behold

The history of jazz has been one of fusion. Its musicians and composers have continually drawn upon a huge range of different musics to create the rich and diverse tapestry that is world jazz today. Jazz is an evolving tradition of music making. And how often, in the life stories of individual jazz musicians, do we see these same patterns operating at microcosm?

The richness of Turkish music and culture sometimes seems at odds with its turbulent and cruel history. In 1979... the country suffered its third military take over in thirty years... Every kind of music was in Turkey at that point. But it was not appreciated. To understand the culture of the country, with those three military takeovers, Turkey could not go anywhere. Musically, it was very difficult. But things were beginning to happen.

Traditional Turkish music is essentially monophonic, rich in melody and rhythm but with little by way of harmony. The contrast with western music, with its beautiful harmonies but rhythmic weaknesses, could not be more marked. And Turkish musical scales are microtonal, unlike Western equally tempered scales.
Source: Fahir Atakoglu: Istanbul Blues by Duncan Heining


Moondog - Behold

• Vocals by: Louis Hardin
• Released in: 1971
• Genres: Avant Folk, Baroque Music

"Moondog was a blind musician and composer who invented and made his own instruments and who lived on the streets of New York for many years. He became an honorary member of the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in the late 1940s."

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