The jazz band 'Emre Tankal Trio feat Duygu Argin' performs at Nardis jazz club in Istanbul on July 22, 2026. First used by Ottoman military "mehter" bands to frighten and demoralise the enemy, cymbals were a useful tool for an empire on the warpath. But it would take the skill of an 17th-century Armenian alchemist called Avedis Zildjian to transform them into a percussion instrument whose exotic sound would first captivate Europe's classical composers and then shape the world of jazz. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images)