🎵 Quarter-tone Guitarist - Jan Wouter Oostenrijk. About Traveling East.. the new album Since the 90's Jan Wouter has created remarkable crossover music inspired by Middle-Eastern and North- African culture, that he easily merges with his Western roots. Gathered under the tags Sharqi, Blues, Maghreb, Jazz, his innovatve guitar playing takes you on a magical journey. Traveling East is his 6th solo album, and this tme released on Mountain records. The sparkling sounding western acoustc guitar is put in the spotlight here, armed with oriental microtonal favours triggered by a modifed quarter tone fretboard. In the solo pieces Jan Wouter plays Taqsim, based on classical Arabic maqam performance. As captured in a compelling story the melody travels through a dizzying labyrinth, acceleratng from silent starry nights towards wild chases in the desert. Touched by great players such as Munir Bachir and Simon Shaheen Ud playing is creatvely twisted back to the guitar. A reunion with ...