Jazz Articles

Turquoise: Mosaic of Anatolia

by AAJ Staff
November 1, 2000

Turquoise, an large improv group led by Turkish/Danish drummer Atilla Engin, takes the idea of world music and applies it in a much broader sense than the usual. First and foremost on this record, of course, is traditional Anatolian music--which constitutes three tracks. These reconstructions enrich the original Turkish melodies with African percussion and Afro-American jazz harmonies. The remainder of the record consists of a highly varied mixture of cultural elements, native instruments, and percussion from Anatolian, African, and Afro-American ...