" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Brubeck and his quartet's exploration of "exotic" time signatures on the 1959 album Time Out (Columbia) was, for its era, strikingly adventurous. The disc's opening track, "Blue Rondo A La Turk," was in 9/8, and "Take Five" was in 5/4. More crazy than adventurous, thought Columbia's executives. They believed the jazz public would be baffled by the time signatures and, for almost a year, the label barely promoted the album. But the public were unbaffled, and ramped up Time Out's sales by word of mouth. Only then was "Take Five," b/w "Blue Rondo A La Turk," released as a single, to become an international chart hit.

Goodness knows what those executives would have made of the Ensemble Al Hindi's rereleased Parfums Ottomans. It explores a dozen or so other classical Turkish (or, more accurately, Ottoman) time signatures, including a string of eight-quaver patterns from 13/8 up to...wait for it...48/8. There may not be any hit singles here, yet the music's lyricism, extensive use of improvisation and rhythmic sophistication commend it to anyone who appreciates Time Out's genius. As it happens, the modal structure of classical Ottoman music also resonates with another 1959 jazz classic, trumpeter