The dissertation presents a theory of tonal jazz harmony in which melodic, harmonic, and stylistic aspects of tonal jazz harmony are integrated and grounded in a solid theoretical foundation. The thesis includes an introduction to the work and its contexts, followed by a commentary on the harmony theory through extensive annotations.

The work’s point of departure is that tonal jazz harmony is a specific variant of Western harmony and does not require a fundamentally new theoretical framework but, rather, crucial modifications of Western harmonic theory to accommodate and explain the musical phenomena adequately. Therefore, it adopts the Harmonielehre-format, a hybrid of speculative theory and pedagogical instruction. The work also touches upon key issues in jazz culture and jazz research, such as the long-standing questions of “ownership” and “entitlement” in jazz, gender, and the recent debates in the US around racism in and through music theory.