Well making something out of basically nothing is something that you have to do with all the arts. Jazz isn't the only one. The difference between Jazz and Classical ideas is what lali said, advanced chord voicing and how chords are harmonized. Rules of Construction are basically the same, and it's not forbidden to apply those Jazz ideas to other forms of music. One scale that is most applicable in Jazz is the Jazz Melodic minor (melodic minor), or any of it's modes.

Remember, Jazz theory like Classical theory is only the study of how things were worked out in the genre. Like how one chord worked in a particular progression, not how they must work. The musician makes the music good, not the music genre.