islam music

Islam's contribution to Jazz and Improvised Music Pat Thomas

The 20th century is dominated by in myths Myth of Evolution,Psychoanalysis,and Feminismetc.One of the great myths in maintained in music has been the “Jazz History”myth.The storygenerally states that out of the marching bands mainly situated in New Orleans a musicdeveloped called Jazz.Jazz was a new music which had roots rhythmically in Africa and rootsharmonically in Europe,and yet could not have developed anywhere but in the United States ofAmerica.As with all myths there is an element of truth in them.However after a centurry ofresearch,i find it sad that majority of scholars working in this field generally accept this myth asa fact.Let us look at the word Jazz.The original spelling is Jass.If anyone had bothered toinvestigate the roots of the word they would have found it is Arabic in origin.All scholars agreethat the polyrythmic patterns associated with Jass can be traced to West Africa,but nearly all ofthese scholars have ignored the fact that the dominant religion in West Africa is Islam.

Islam became established in West Africa in Takrur a state,”which flourished on the lowerSenegal river for a brief period from AD 1000.Attribution,nisba-that is,a name derived from atribe,a town,a sect etc-is well known in the Arab world;hence the word Takruri(plural Takarir)was coined to refer to the people of this Kingdom.This form is still used by the Moors and Arabsof theSenegal;the Wolof us “tocolor”from which the French “Toucouler”is derived.In the MiddleEast,however al-Takrur ie ahl al-Takrur or the Takrir,came to have a generic sense inclusive ofall peoples of West African origin.”Al-Naqir p.365 journal of African History)As Islam spreadthe African Muslimsadopted Arabic,since it is the language of the Quran.Therefore when slaveswere transported to the USA from West Africa among them were Muslims who were”highlyeducated and literate in Arabic.These Afro-Muslim slaves were sunni(orthodox)and adhered toMaliki(school of law)legal interpretation.Though they spoke diverse,mutually nativeunintelligble languages,they could communicate with one another by reciting prayers and sayingsin Arabic..”(Bilge Encylopedia of Religion Islam in Americas.)With this background we can seewhy certain words found in the Jazz vocabulary are Arabic.The Hans Wehr Dictionary of modernwritten Arabic(p.125)has several meanings for the word “Jass”.they are to:to touch:feel:totest:probe:sound to be a spy.Idries Shah in his book”The Sufis(p180)also mentions theword,defining it as “to scrutinize(hidden things)...this is the root of the word for esponiage andhence the Sufi is called the spy of the heart.To the Sufi the scrutinazation for the purpose ofascertaining hidden things is an equivalent,poetically speaking,with the motive of concentratingthe mind.”Unfortunately so;called “Jazz experts have consistently regaded this word assomething of a mystery,and seeing it as a slang word for sex.When in fact it gives a very gooddescription of the music.Every Jazz fan knows that “feel”is central to the Jazz aesthetic for agreat performance,that exploring and creating new sound worlds,are crucial to every new phaseJazz has passed through.Clearly the original meanings of this arabic word were distorted onentering the english language.

Another key Jazz term is the Jam session.It has always been in Jam sessions that new ideas havebeen tried out,for example it is inconceivable to imagine BEBOP happening without thegatherings that took place at Mintons jam sessionsThe word Jam is Arabic among its meaningsare :gathering,collection,combination,relaxand union(Hans Wehr p.135).In fact,the Englishlanguage is saturated with Arabic words,forexample,lemon,coffee,lilac.jasmine,algebra,zero,alchol.Clearly it looks like as if Jazz has rootsin the Muslim culture of West Africa.Despite losing knowledge of their past ,some words ,likeJass and Jam,have remained more or less intact.Another is the slang term Hey.This word has


been used to great effect by the Godfather of Soul James Brown,and has been part of the Jazzvocubulary since at leat the 30`s.There is no doubt that this comes from the Arabic wordHayy.among its meanings are :living :lusty:energitic and tribe.These few examples show thatthey cannot be dismissed as mere coincidences.Obviously some key Jazz terms are Arabic.This“secret language”is the basis of so-called Black Talk.In so-called “Gospel music”there is an underlying islamic influence.A lot has been written aboutthe function of the church in Afro-American communities,but nobody seems to have recognizedthat,the style used by the preacher is similar in style to that of the Imam(the one who leads theprayer)in Islam.The Imam gives a Khutbah(sermon)on topics of relevance to his community,thiswould include commenting on the need for more funds to keep the Masjid(Mosque-place ofworship)going,or about social and political problems affecting the community,as well asfulfilling their spirual needs.This is a spontaneous talk,and an Imam will sometimes use animatedand emotional language to emphasize particular points.This occurs on a Friday and is known asthe Jummah (congregation)prayer,the congregation are likely to nod their head or voice theirapproval or dissaproval of what the Imam is saying with expletives such as “Alhamdillah(praisebe to God)Allhahu-Akbar(God is Great)subahan-Allah(glory be to God).This behaviour isconsistent with th e black churches of America today.”,,the are where Muslim Imams likeAfrican Tom and Bilali lived..indicate that while this early Muslim community existed(ignoredby most Americanscholars of the period as well as by most American historians),it counted forapproximately 20-50% of the African-American population.Given the fact also that thepopulation of the states of South Carolina and Georgiaat this time was approximately 80%African-American,and that 90%of all African-Americans can trace their heritage to thisregion,the loss of this first Muslim community was no doubt a serious blow to the true potentialof all African-Americans..This earliest Muslim community in the US should be remembered forits strong devotion to Islam under conditions of almost certain death for so doing..Due to thehostility of the Afro-Christianized church as well as the Anglo=American community to the useof African and particurlarly Muslim names,the African and Muslim names became nicknames bywhich the individual was called by his family or known only in his community,and thus weregradually discontinued”(Y.N.Kly Journal of Muslim Minority affairs vol 10 jan 89)

This meant that the only”religious”outlet available for the slaves of African descent wasChristianity.The sunday service became a special occasion for them.

The legacy of great vocalists such as Mahalia Jackson,Dinah Washington,Billie Holliday,ArethaFranklin,Luther Van Dross,Nat "King"Cole,George Benson etc,is traced to the schooling theyrecieved in Gospel Choirs.This can be traced to the tradition of the Muezzin.(the one who leadsthe Adhan-the call to prayer).Throughout the Muslim world Africa is renowned for itsMuezzins.The first Muezzin in Islam was the African,Bilal,who was a close companion of theProphet Muhammad(peace be upon him),HE WAS ALSO THE FIRST AFRICAN TOEMBRACE ISLAM(609/610 AD)The Adhan has developed into a vocal style that includesextending particular letters and words,this is best described as a melliflous wail and the effect canbe ravishing.It is this technique whis is to be found in the extempore"wailing"of Gospel Music.

This is based on"Ilm al Tajwid"(science of reciting Qur`an).The Qari is the master reciter ofQur`an,the Quran can be recited in seven different ways,the Qari would be aware of all thedifferent styles of recital,and aware of all the rules/This is a highly developed science needless tosay which requires a article by itself ,fom an expert in this field.However the dominant style of


recital especially in West Africa,can be traced to Nafi bin Abdal-Rahman bin Nuàym al-Madani(d;785)of Isfahan."Nafi provided leadership in qiraàh for seventy years and promoted faithfullythe Qiràh of Madina"(I.Surty The science of reciting the Qurànp.22)This means we need tolook at the history "Black Music"as one way of retaining links with their West African heritage.

The musical style known as Bebop was a major turning point in the development of Jazz.We cansay bebop emerged in 1944,and laid the foundations of modern Jazz.The leading lights wereundoubtedly Thelonius Monk,Dizzy Gillespie,Charlie Parker,Kenny Clarke and Bud Powell.TheOrigin of the namelike the word Jazz I believe is to be found in the Arabic language,the name hasan alternative Rebop and it is this word which gives us a clue to its origins,Inthe Hans-WehrDictionary of modern Arabic we find the wordRebab(p320)described as as a “stringed instrumentof the Arabs resembling the fiddle with one to three strings”Is it possible this is the originalword?The Rebab is still used widely throughout the Muslim world,and is used by West AfricanMuslims,as Wright writes in his article about music in Islam”The dominance of Islam in WesternAfrica and its extensive spread down the east coast have resulted in the introduction of forexample,the ghaytor(alligator is derived from this word)shawm,the ghuga,a one string fiddle,andcertain types of drum.”(O.Wright Legacy of Islam p501)Malm also writes that in “Negro Africathe musical changes caused by Moslem influence are rather specific and easy to identify.NegroMuslim singers will ornament their lines with quick.microtonal shakes and mordents.They tendto use a tense,nasal voice quality.When voices and instruments are combined,the accompanimentis not the multiple drums or ostinatos on a melodic instrument as found in Central Africa,butrather a single or double drum(often of a kettle,hourglass,or frame-drum type)or a bowedstringed instrument(like the rebab)playing hetrophonically.”(Wlliam P.Malm music cultures ofthe pacific,the near east,and asia p.37-58)The Wolof people of Senegal and Gambia where theGriots-the class of professional musicians are found.use predominantly polyrhythms in theirmusic.There seems to be a parallel with Bebop in the mid forties,where polyrhythmic patternsstarted to be emplyed by the drummer Kenny Clarke,who with Art Blakey and SahibShihab,converted to Islam ,this was due to the growing intrest in Islam to occurred during the1930`s,also to ther acvtiviies of the Nation of Islam among urban blacks in America.KennyClarke helped to create the new rhytmic basis of Bebop,and also there was a more consciouseffort to emulate West African rhythms.

The composition “A Night in Tunisua@by Dizzy Gillespie even goes as far as using the Tunisianmode ramal mai,combined with a strong West African rhythmic pattern.Graham Lock mentionsin his A-Z of Bebop article for the Wire comments that key Beboppers sparked berets and goateebeards,he suggests in jest that this may be attributed to a veneration of everything french.In factwearing something on your head and sporting a beard are Sunnah(practic of the ProphetMuhammad pbuh)and can be seen in any Muslim country,and especially in West Africa,thegoatee beard is very popular among the Griots.

The small Jazz club atmosphere is regarded as the ideal setting for listening to Jazz.”This musicis frequently heard in cafes.The listener may listen,sip or converse as he sees fit”That descriptionwas not from a Jazz club but was used by Malm(p56)to describe the atmosphere for listening toclassicla improvised music in North Africa.

The New Orleans marching band which is generally felt to be the foundation of the Jazzmarching bands,is believed to be a legacy of the European millitary bands.In fact the marching


band is derived from the “famous Turkish Janissary military band,which consisted of nineplayers each on bass drums(dawil)trombones(boru),cymbals,double kettle drums(nakare)oboes(,zurna)and the clanging bell trees called in English Turkish crescents or Chinesepavillions.Many of the eighteenth-century pieces”alla Turca@by composers such as Mozart andBeethoven were imatitions of this ensemble.A modern variant can be found in some shrinerparades in the United States.”(MALM P56).Turkey via the Ottoman empire was the home of theKhalifah(Head of the Muslim world.)Who could call onMuslims from all parts of the globe,tomake up its army,it is well known that Muslims from West Africa were members of theJanissary.Therefore it is no suprose that on entering the USA that they made m,archingbands.The difference being that on the western instruments such as the clarinet and trumpet,theadded the microtonal shakes and mordents from Islamic music.These elementsbecoming the foundation for all Afro-American music,whether it is Gospel,Jazz,Blues or HipHop.

The origins of Western Music are to be found in Moorish Spain.The muslims captured Spain in711.With an army consisting of Syrians,Berbers and Sudanese Muslims.The Muslims ruledSpain for over 700 years,Spain returning to catholic rule in 1492.Its fair to say that Islamspresence in Andulucia(the Muslims name for Spain),played a major part in the developmentofEuropean music.It was in Spain that many of the instruments associated with Western music first appeared.They include the lute,guitar and the rebec(the first bowed instrument toappear in Europe,and derived from the rebab the Arab viol)as well as the organ and thetambourine.From Spain they enterd the rest of Europe,and travelled as far as England where thecanan(qunun),lute and rebec(apparently a favourite of Chaucer`s)were played.Measured musicwas already in existence from 900 CE in parts of the Islamic world.This consisted of usingnotation and giving notes fixed measures,a sketch that could be filled out by the musician with anextemporay flourish.The musician would use notation as a reminder of a melody.in the Islamicworld this was seen as a novelty,as memoriziation of compositions was the normmbut forEurope,notation has become athe means of authenticating a particular composer.Notation enterdthe european world via Spain.Abu`l Hasan Ali ibn Nafi whose nickname was Ziryab because ofhis dark complexion,added a fith string to the lute.Regarded as one of the finest m,usicians of alltime,he is credited with introducing new modes and forms originating in Persia(Iran)which wereto have a profound effect on the music of Spain.I think its fair to say no Ziryab,no Flamenco.Thefifth string added was considered to represent the Soul.A parallel with Jazz and oth Black Musicsis the importance of playing with feeling or soul.Needless to say,iti si not so far fetched to regardthe roots of Black Soul music as having originated in Europe after all..

Ziryab`s influence was not restricted to music he is credited with creating new styles of dress,forthe different seasons of the year,introducing toothpaste,and creating a new hair style,whichconsisted of having the hair cut short,leaving free the eyebrows,ears and neck.He also madepopular the idea of separate courses for food ,starting with a soup,then main meal and finishingwith a desert”made from nuts,honey and compote of fruits,reminiscent of the turron andmembrilio popular in Spain today”(J.Read The Moors in Spain p.65)Other Spanish innovatorsinclude Al-Hakim who made an extra perforation at the bottom of the reed blown horn known asthe buq,the prototype for the western trumpet.Al-Zurnam designed the the woodwind instrumentknown as as the Nay Zurmani,in the 9th century.The oldest music faculty of any WesternUnversity is to be found in Spain,at Salamaca(thirteenth century).(pelican history of musicancient forms to polyphony p.130)


The other main influence of Muslim Spain was on the troubadours.The word troubadour isderived from the arabic word Tarab,among its meanings are joy,pleasure,entertainment withmusic;a musical instrument9the rebab)Hans Wehr,p555)The Troubadours are said to have been“part of a cultuire which valued improvised/music events and oral traditions”(Jim DenleyImprovisation:The Entanglement of Awareness and Physically.Resonance volume1 number1,october 1992)”The troubadours of France came in touch with easternoriental music during thecrusades and with the civilasation of Muslim Spain,and it would have been suprising had theyremained closed to all influences.At the same time the oriental minstrel wandered all overEurope and must have brought their Arab plays their.”(pelican History of musicp.131)

Syncopated rhythms are at the hear of Jazz.In Spain and other parts of the Islamic world the useof cross-rhytms became prominent during the 9th century.This is due entirely to the influence ofthe Sufis.The Sufis have erroneously been considered by some oreintalists to beyond the pale ofIslam,and having little regard for the Shariah.But in fact the greatest defenders of the Shariahhave been Sufis,as the model for the Perfect man is the Prophet Muhammad(pbuh)theforefollowing his sunnah(practices)leads to Tariqah(the Sufi way),and to be on a way, one needs aroad which is the Shariah,which will lead to Haqiqah(true reality).The Chisti Tariqah founded byKhwaja Abu Ishaq Chisti(d.966)is well known for its use of music in its spiritual practices.”Thewandering dervishes of the order were known aas chist.They would enter a town and play arousing air with flute and drum to gather people round them...Traces of this figure occur even inEurope,where the sSpanish chistu is found with similar garb and instruments-a sort of itenerantjester.”(The way of the Sufip,127)It was through Spain that minstrel music enterdEurope,spreading as far as England with morris dancing.”The Spanish word mascara,like theEnglish masker(play actor).was derived from the Arabic maskhara(buffoon).The hobby-horseand grelots were part of the impedimenta of the morris dancers,alias “Moorish dancers”.whowere still painting their faces like the Moors in the time of Thoinot Arbeau(1589).The hobby-horse(kurraj)and its bells(jaljil)are mentioned by Jarir(d.c.728)and is described among the Moorsof North Africa by Ibn Khaldun(d.1406),and its Basque descendant,the Zamalzain is simply theArabic Zamil al-Zain(gala limping horse)(New Oxford History of Music,Ancient and OrientalMusic,The music of Islam Henry George Farmer p.467)The influence of the Mevlevi Tariqah popularly known as the “whirling dervishes”om Europeanmusic is also quite significant.Founded at Konia by Jalaluddin Rum(d.12730It is through themusic of this order that the Waltz was introduced into Europe.Some of the movements andrhythms employed by this tariqah were adopted by Western composers,like the Sraussfamily,Mozart,Beethoven,and Chopin.These examples show the influence of Islamic music onWestern classical music.

Classical Indian as it is known today,was created during the Muslim rule of India.Muslims havebeen in India since 725 CE.The Muslims settled in the North of India and ruled the region fromthe 10th-1700th centuryThe Cjisti Tauqah”made their most enduring impact upon India.For thepast nine hundred years their musicians have been esteemed throughout the subcontinent.”(Shahp.127)Amir Khsrau(1253-1325)is considered to be the founder of Hinustani music.He inventedthe Sitar and the Tabla,these are the two main instruments of Indian Improvised music.Alsounder his influence,”Hindustani music developed the more intimate and subtle features of noteand melody,recieving and transforming many new Persian and Arabic tunes and ragas(e.g.Huseni Kafi,Bahar).From Muslim influence date different names given to identical Ragas


and the longer and more flexible time-measures”{pelican history of music p,37)Khusrau was alsoa great poet and his sufi Shaykh(teacher)was the great Chist Saint Nizamuddin Awliya.All themain instruments of North Indian classical music are derived from Muslim instruments.TheSarod,comes from the Sarud,the Tanbura and the Shainai derived from the Tabur and the NayZurnami.Moreover the influence of Indian music on western improvisers such asColtrane,Dolphy,Derek Bailey,Tony Oxley,Matt Lewis etc,and on Western Composers like LaMonte Young,and Messian who derived a lot of his ideas for modes fromINdian musicmtaughtStockhausen and Boulez two of the major composers of 20th century music. CONCLUSIONIt seems astonishing to me that materials so easily available,have not been utilised by JazzHistorians before.Clearly a lot of inaccurate writing about Jazz,in particular could have beenavoided if the anti-Islam bias wasn`t so strong in America and Europe.This would explain whythe Muslim contribution to improvised musics,clearly of major importance has been overlooked.

Selected BibliographyMoors in Spain and Portugal J.Read Faber 1974Cambridge Encylclopedia of India C.U.P 1989Middle East Bedside Book(ED)T.Shah Octagan 1990Hans Wehr Arabic Dictionary(ed)J.M.Cowan 1976The New Oxford History of Music volume1 O.U.P.1957Evolution A Theory in Crisis M.Denton Burnett Books 1985The Facts of Life R.Milton Fourth Estate 1992Brain Sex A.Moir& D.Jessel Micheal Joseph 1989Music Cultures of the pacific,the Near East,and Asia W.P.Malm Prentice Hall 1967The Legacy of Islam J.Schatt & C.E.Bosworth(ED)O.U.P.1971The Pelican History of Music volume 1 A Dennis&D.Stevens(Ed)The Sufis I.Shah Annchor Books 1964The W ay of The Sufi I.Shah 1968Blood on the cross A.Thompson TA-ha Books 1989The Failure of Feminism N.Davidson Prometheous Books 1985The Freudian Fall acy-Freud and Cocaine E.M Thornton 1981 A LIST OF INFLUENTIAL MUSLIM JAZZ MUSICIANSPIANO DRUMSSADIK HAKIM ART BLAKEY(ABDULLAH IBN BUHANIA)HASSAN IBN ALI KENNY CLARKE(LIQAT ALI SALAAM)ABDULLAH IBRAHIM BILLY HIGGINSMcCoy TYNER OMAR HAKIMAHMAD JAMAL IDRIS MUHAMMAD RASHIED ALITRUMPETTED CURSONAHMED ABDULLAH IDREES MUHAMMAD

REEDS


MURSHID KARIM(EVERAD POWELL)SAHIB SHIHABJACKIE McLEANYUSEF LATIFSHAFI HADIGUITARDAMU MUSTAFA ABDAL MUSSAWWIR(JAMES BLOOD ULMER)DOUBLE BASSAHMED ABDAL-MALIKELECTRIC BASSjJAMAALADEEN TACUMAAMIN ALI CELLO ABDUL WADUDORGAN KHALID YASIN(LARRY YOUNG) THERAMIN YUSEF YANCEY

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