Jazz Improvisation

This research carried out at The School of Music, University of Leeds, is a performance-based study of improvised music, where my main instrument is the alto saxophone. I am looking at a variety of ‘architectonic’ concepts and structural organisations that inform creative space for musical improvisation. Over the last three and a half years I have performed and recorded a series of pieces, where the structural makeup of the music acts as a catalyst for musical improvisation. Specifically, I have concentrated on solo performance, the duo format, improvising to silent film, as well as continuous, long-term collaboration with an established group of improvisers.

The main focus of the portfolio is a varied look at improvised music through the subjective input of my performance. Thus, although I view this as a phenomenological study of improvised music as an experienced phenomenon, where the recorded material becomes a case study of a highly individual approach to improvisation, the outcome also informs a more generic philosophy of improvised music.

I view musical performance – and specifically improvisation – as a highly individual sphere accessible only through the individual improviser. The topic is often viewed as elusive to general research, as musical improvisation always forms an intricate part of the subjective approach to performing, where the improvisational object cannot be separated from individual musical thought. However, by recognizing the individuality in musical performance and perception, and undertaking research based on my own playing, I arrive at a generic philosophical model to musical improvisation constructed around the individual performer at the core.

The study is an attempt to demystify improvisational elements in music, looking at the skill of improvising with an equally pragmatic and philosophical approach. The written commentary accompanying the recorded portfolio is therefore both a direct scrutiny of my improvisational approaches, as well as a phenomenological exploration of the improvisational elements in music.

This paper explores Mary Catherine Bateson's critique of individualism and argument for the recognition and development of interdependence. Individualism is presented as a cornerstone of American culture, forming a constellation along with analytic thinking, methodological individualism and free market capitalism. This constellation stands in opposition to and is held in place by the constellation of collectivism, holistic thinking, methodological holism and socialism/ communism. These constellations and their dimensions are viewed as static and reified and polarized to the extent that they are no longer useful. Creativity is introduced as a factor for change and the elements of process and transformation. The discussion is contextualized drawing on examples from both academia and popular culture.

Forward-thinking big band compositions by award-winning composer Brian Eisenberg. Featuring: Vinnie Colaiuta, Dick Oatts, Bob Sheppard, Adam Schroeder, Brandon Fields, Bob McChesney, Ron King, Andrew Synowiec, and Trey Henry.
Genre: Jazz: Contemporary Jazz
Release Date: 2017

Gillespie y Pozo fusionaron el Jazz y la música cubana. Mario Bauza, Machito y Graciela crearon el Cubop o Latin Jazz, el antecedente directo de la SALSA. Historia del Jazz. Parte XLIX
https://salsaconcausa.blogspot.com/2019/05/gillespie-y-pozo-fusionaron-el-jazz-y.html

Corresponding with the aesthetic of bir'yun or 'shimmering brilliance' created by the cross-hatching in Yolŋu painting, manikay (song) might also be characterised by a play of colour and movement, generated through the heterophonic interweaving of voices. While bir'yun might be considered a technique that generates emotion or a sense of beauty, the perception of bir'yun is decidedly more than the aesthetic. Bir'yun encompasses constitutional, political and educational dimensions, affirming Wägilak identity and purpose through an interplay of difference, in the diverse voices that enfolded together on the ceremonial ground (bambula). As the experience of bir'yun is enriched by new voices and colours, a productive approach to collaboration between Yolŋu and Balanda (non-indigenous) Australians is suggested: through mutually enriching conversation, a living interplay of voices is generated that brings life to the whole.

This paper extends out of 10 years of music teaching with Daniel Wilfred and our exploration of 'openings' within manikay for collaborative performance.

Presented at the 19th Symposium on Indigenous Music and Dance, National Recording Project for Indigenous Performance in Australia

"The dialectic between soul and science, body and number, freedom and discipline, self and non-self – dare I say it? That’s culture in a nutshell. It is this very dialogue - this sustained interaction between ourselves and the world around us - that I wish to make audible through music."

A version of this article originally appeared in The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/oct/15/fibonacci-golden-ratio

Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah is an African American trumpeter, composer and producer from New Orleans, Louisiana. He has written compositions and performed improvisations committed to social justice themes. His cultural work is a natural extension of his community service training directed by his grandfather Donald Harrison Sr. His composition 'Danziger' (2012) gives voice to the unarmed citizens injured and killed by police as they crossed the Danziger Bridge in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. 'Danziger' extends from his stretch music theory which aTunde Adjuah describes as disassembling and reassembling musical ideas so that his compositions and improvisations can be understood holistically. While aTunde Adjuah's interpretation of the Danziger Bridge shootings is funneled through the ontological cornucopia of his trumpet and references his particular community, the message he sends out through his custom-made trumpet bell is universal because his critique supports everyday human rights.

Jimmie Blanton (1918-1942), best known for his tenure with Duke Ellington between 1939 and 1941, is by many considered to be one of the most influential bassists in jazz history. He has been widely studied, resulting in a paradigmatic depiction of his life and music. But a closer look reveals that all studies on Blanton focus on a single year, from November 1939 and November 1940, of his six-year career as a performer. Thus, a paradox is born. While many believe to profoundly understand Blanton’s music through the writings that abound, many of its aspects remain ‘hidden’, and only a partial and unnuanced narrative of this musician surfaces. Using 1941, Blanton’s final year with Ellington, as a case study, I will unravel the reasons, several of which are extra-musical, behind this period’s omission and detail its far-reaching consequences, which continue to pervade literature on the bassist to this day.

Elke jazzliefhebber staat geregeld stil bij het wonder van de improvisatie. Het lijkt zo vanzelfsprekend en gemakkelijk - en toch is het een talent dat lang niet iedereen toevalt. Iwan Wopereis doet onderzoek voor een proefschrift waarin hij het geheim van de improvisatiekunst in de jazz wil doorgronden. Hier geeft hij alvast een tussenstand.

Music performance anxiety (MPA) is common among musicians, and varying levels of MPA inevitably occur in performances. The causes of MPA are difficult to define due to different factors in diverse musicians. Minimal research has been conducted on the causes of MPA and its effect on improvising subjects, specifically percussionists. The following dissertation draws together improvisation and MPA through an analysis of the causes of MPA in improvisational contexts. A proposition of six constraints (tradition, style, performer, instrument, environment and time) was devised by the author through research in existing literature on psychological constraints in improvisation. The ‘six constraints’ were analysed in improvisational contexts as possible causes of MPA. Research originated from personal observations in practice, rehearsals and performances, and was recorded in a reflective journal. Classical and jazz tertiary undergraduate percussionists were also surveyed, which calculated their MPA levels through the Kenny-Music Performance Anxiety Inventory (K-MPAI). A selection of six diverse percussionists (three jazz and three classical) were interviewed and compared to autoethnographic data. Findings suggested that three factors of personal background, perception of the six constraints, and MPA acknowledgement and management had positive and negative effects to MPA levels. These concepts correlated with cognitive processing, and therefore revealed that the musician’s perception affected MPA levels and not the effect of the improvisational context. Further research also found positive factors assisting MPA alleviation, including improvisation and identifying cognitive distortions. The project addresses the importance of MPA, health, and performance psychology in future artistic research to assist creativity and expression.

Traditional moot court or legal advocacy training is often criticised for failing to adequately prepare advocates to be nimble-footed in the courtroom and able to respond quickly and responsively to unexpected situations. In contrast, Hydra, named after the serpent-like water monster with numerous heads in Greek mythology, hones legal argumentation skills, requiring participants to be Hydra-headed and skilled at rapidly analysing a legal issue from a variety of angles and perspectives, teaching advocates to be prepared for the unexpected.

This article introduces and explains the key tenets of the improvisational “game piece,” Hydra, which was created by the Into the Key of Law research team at Queen's University Belfast between 2014-16. Recognising the importance of improvisation in relation to expert legal advocacy, we proceed, firstly, with a discussion of the necessity of creative legal advocacy in contemporary Western common law legal systems. We will then outline the utility of improvisation as a pedagogical practice and move on to a sketch of the pedagogy of improvisation as it applies to legal advocacy through the introduction and explanation of the creative training tool, Hydra. The aim of this article is to demonstrate the potential of Hydra to inspire creativity, criticality and ethics in the lawyers of tomorrow and, in doing so, suggest redefining legal advocacy pedagogy and training as essentially improvisational in nature.

A paper delivered at the “Architect of the Jewish Future: A Conference on the Life, Work, and Legacy of Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan.” At Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., March 2014.

Mordecai Kaplan's understanding of Art was communal in focus, and thus from the from the perspective of artists, limited. The legacy regarding the Arts, however, continues to be visionary. "On one hand, Jews as individuals continue to be in the forefront of the farthest reaches of the worlds of Art, music, dance, film, and multimedia. On the other hand, Jews appear to collectively and institutionally support work that is generally the most comfortable and familiar, and thus often the most conservative... Truly, Kaplan’s optimism continues to inspire, challenge, and maybe rebuke, when we recall his observation, more than 65 years ago, that “we are only at the very beginning in the process of creating a modern Jewish art.”

L’attrazione esercitata dalla musica continua ad affascinare gli studiosi e, sebbene definiamo
generalmente la musica come ‘linguaggio’, non possiamo paragonarla affatto al linguaggio
verbale, perché essa non esprime nessun concetto univoco. Inoltre, ci siamo chiesti se anche la
musica nasconda modelli ricorsivi – tanto presenti in natura e nella sintassi verbale – e come
questi possano essere rilevati durante l’ascolto, seppur in maniera inconscia.

At the same time, a significant body of research literature addressing jazz improvisation has been developing over the last couple of decades. This work includes topics on jazz storytelling [5], including references on the concept by well known jazz musicians and scholars. Some [6] introduce the concept of re-telling to refer to the re-working of a standard, based on a famous recording of a master, stressing the important tension between individual voice and tradition. Others [7] explore machine learning of jazz grammars, using basic building-blocks or “slopes,” touching upon the antitheses of abstraction versus vocabulary, and attempting to codify harmonic tension. A relevant work that focused on Sonny Rollins’s thematic improvisation [8] will be explored further, below. Weimar’s Jazzomat Research Project [9] has produced several databases of annotated solos and licks, including the “Dig That Lick” database. Studies on the use of patterns in jazz [10], [11], have stressed the impor...

This paper examines specific musical elements of Clifford Brown’s improvised solo on “Hot House”, from the recording “Live at the Bee Hive". Solos from live recordings, such as this one, give a window into the history and existence of the art of extended improvisation from an era before such solos were being documented in studio sessions. Clifford Brown used the extended format to develop musical ideas and display a variety of techniques which add coherence and interest over this longer time frame.
Citing examples from the score, I have discussed and detailed his use of the following features:
1. Thematic Development and the Variety of Techniques Used to Achieve It 2. Rhythmic Tendencies and Contrasts
3. Phrasing Structure and Pacing
4. Melodic Construction and Intervallic Shapes
5. Harmonic Approach
6. Trumpet-Specific Instrumental Devices
In addition, I have mentioned other aspects of this solo which I consider to be important, and have described them with detailed analysis.

El jazzista argentino Leandro 'Gato' Barbieri (1932) ganador del premio Grammy por la memorable música de la cinta de Bernardo Bertolucci, con Maria Schneider y Marlon Brando, El Último Tango en París (1972), conversa sobre ¿Qué Pasa? su reciente trabajo discográfico con el estilo más nítido del smooth jazz. Son 11 temas intimistas, homenajes de Barbieri a seres e imágenes queridas.

This paper is an analysis of Brad Mehldau's solo on the Charlie Parker/Dizzy Gillespie composition "Anthropology," itself based on George Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm." The focus is on devices deployed by Mehldau to break free form the traditional harmonic underpinning of "rhythm changes."

This is from the album The Very Tall Band: Live At The Blue Note, a recording from 1998. Oscar Peterson also composed this ballad which, unlike the daunting virtuosity required by most of his playing, is merely of moderate difficulty. The music with the transcription can be heard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdbPOIOKPPE&frags=pl%2Cwn

Il concetto di improvvisazione è diventato sempre più diffuso nel discorso della teoria organizzazionale. Questo saggio esplora molti aspetti dell’improvvisazione nel contesto delle attività musicali, organizzazionali e quotidiane, al fine di sollevare alcune delle questioni filosofiche e pratiche importanti nell’ambito di questo interesse emer-gente. Si creano connessioni tra il concetto modernista di organizzazione e la ricerca degli studiosi, e gli approcci post-moderni o basati sulla complessità che mettono in luce la creatività come una condizione emergente della relazione tra ordine e disordine. Il saggio si chiude suggerendo che lo studio dell’improvvisazione richiede una profon-da immersione nella inter-soggettività, nelle emozioni, nel tempo, nell’estetica, nell’esibizione e nella creatività sociale, aspetti che tradizionalmente non sono mai stati il fulcro degli studi organizzazionali e di management o delle scienze sociali in generale. Il saggio suggerisce anche che la pratica stessa delle scienze sociali dovrebbe riflettere su questi aspetti e provare a farli propri.

Giorgio Gaslini, scomparso il 29 luglio scorso, era nato a Milano il 22 ottobre del 1929. Pianista, compositore, arrangiatore, direttore d'orchestra, non era soltanto un protagonista della storia del jazz, ma un musicista multiforme che praticava con talento creativo e intel-ligenza critica anche altri generi musi-cali. Di formazione classica, compagno di corso di Claudio Abbado e Luciano Berio, consegue sei diplomi al Conservatorio di Milano studiando anche con Carlo Maria Giulini, ma si avvicina giovanissimo alla musica afro-americana, sua grande passione. Il suo primo disco è addirittura del '48. Fermamente convinto che il jazz sia solo un aspetto della musica contemporanea, dalla fine degli anni '50 inizia a promuovere contenuti innovativi, favorendo le condizioni per la nascita di un jazz di matrice europea. L'ampiezza degli interessi culturali e la sua lucidità programmatica lo portano a stabilire i fondamentali presup-posti teorici che contribuiscono subito a determinare le peculiarità della sua musica. Gaslini teorizza la musica totale in un Manifesto 2 del 1964, cogliendo utilmente il respiro delle neoavanguardie internazionali, che in quegli anni vanno riflettendo d'interdisciplinarità e di superamento delle categorie artistiche. Alcuni concetti essenziali, per molti versi già elabo-rati dalle avanguardie storiche, aprono ulteriori spazi di creatività. Dopo anni di disinteresse, le esperienze pionieristiche degli ismi novecenteschi diventano finalmente oggetto di grande attenzione. Da un lato, i critici e gli storici rivelano e valorizzano uno sterminato patrimonio di idee; dall'altro, gli artisti subiscono il fascino dell'interlinguaggio e via via ne consolidano le applicazioni, con un atteggiamento nuovo nei confronti della realtà e con efficaci strumenti tecnici e linguistici che amplificano le sollecitazioni verso l'intersezione tra le arti. L'idea di categoria è parzialmente assorbita da quella di continuità. La 1 Le foto vengono riprodotte per gentile concessione della Signora Marta Ceron: www.giorgiogaslini.it 2 Pubblicato in Giorgio Gaslini, Musica totale: intuizioni, vita ed esperienze musicali nello spirito del '68, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1975.

During the 1930’s, Armstrong, who had established himself internationally as one of the greatest of all jazz musicians during the 1920’s, continued to make prolific musical recordings, appeared in Hollywood films, and maintained a rigorous touring schedule entertaining audiences worldwide. | Goecke, N. Michael, "Louis Armstrong," in Thirties in America, Thomas Tandy Lewis ed. (Salem Press: Pasadena, CA, March 2011).

Outre le choix des notes, qui est prescrit par une tradition commune, qu’est-ce qui distingue un improvisateur jazz d’un.e autre ? Qu’est-ce qui constitue leur « son », leur « signature » ? Les méthodes d’analyses plus traditionnelles n’étant pas suffisantes pour circonscrire l’entièreté de l’expression contenue dans l’improvisation jazz, nous devons nous tourner vers l’étude d’enregistrements de solos improvisés afin d’examiner la « performance » musicale, c’est-à-dire les éléments liés à la production du son par l’instrumentiste. Cependant, l’oreille pouvant omettre certains éléments au profit d’autres, nous avons adapté un modèle d’analyse par spectrogramme utilisé pour le chant en musique populaire. En ajoutant le visuel à l’auditif, ce modèle permet un inventaire plus exhaustif des « gestes sonores » contenus dans les improvisations, c’est-à-dire toutes manifestations sonores produites par des gestes instrumentistes effectués au sein d’un processus musical. Tirée d’un projet de recherche-création, une méthode autoethnographique nous permet de distinguer des gestes sonores tirés de mes propres improvisations et ainsi le comparer avec celles du saxophoniste de réputation internationale Chris Potter. Les analyses distingues cinq gestes sonores, subtils mais distinctifs, observés à partir des microvariations de hauteurs lors de l’attaque ou le déclin de certaines notes, de l’utilisation particulière de sons multiphoniques, du vibrato, des jeux de dynamiques et de bruits de clés.

The musical legacy of J Dilla continues to be felt eight years after his untimely death from lupus at the age of thirty two. During his lifetime Dilla produced dozens of albums for many influential hip hop artists while also producing his own albums and hundreds of individual compositions that are still unreleased. His influence has been felt by tens of
millions of people around the globe, the tools he used to create his compositions are held by the Smithsonian, and yet there are no academic studies analyzing his music. This paper will serve as a beginning, and will examine how Dilla approached production and composition through an analysis of the track “Workinonit” from his 2006 release, Donuts. How did Dilla make his beats and choose to arrange the samples that he used?
For example, in bars 74-81 of “Workinonit” Dilla loops a sample in which the vocals declare “Fade me,” taken from 10CC’s track the “Worst band in the world.” Perhaps due to pitch manipulation, the “F” sound has turned to an “S”, and to my ears, it sounds like the vocals are saying “Save me.” However, upon closer examination of the 10CC track, one finds that at 2:20, the vocals do indeed sound like this, and it is this part that Dilla has
chosen to loop, leaving one to wonder if he chose this section precisely because of it’s vocal ambiguity. This is especially relevant when one considers that the other repetitions
of “Fade me” on the 10CC track all have clear diction along with the same drum rhythm and guitar parts. Clearly, using this particular sample was a conscious aesthetic choice by
Dilla. The paper will look at more examples like this in order to better understand his compositional process.

A jazz trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and painter, Davis played a vital role in the history of modern jazz. During a career that spanned more than fifty years, Davis developed an original, lyrical soloing style and emerged as a pioneering leader of several jazz idioms, including cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, jazz-rock, and jazz-funk fusion. | Goecke, N. Michael, "Miles Davis," in Great Lives from History: African Americans, Carl L. Bankston III ed., (Pasadena, CA: Salem Press, September 2011).

Jazz music have been around for more than a hundred years, and is one of few music genres
which pre-existed modern performance technology which is still developing and
a highly relevant. Since the acoustical nature of a performance space greatly
influences the auditory impression for both the performer and audience, the
environment will influence the very nature of the performance. This art form is based on
the movement in the moment, a dialogue carried by the acoustics of the space. The
authenticity of the expressed sound is vital, which may require more attention to be
paid to the design process and acoustical development of the space, as well as from
everyone involved in a production and performance. A paradox is that temporary
improvised music is often created in improvised spaces which may challenge all
principles of the acoustics. This underlines a proposed fundament of what this form of art stands for: listen and question.

On 8 May 2021, the Bern Academy of the Arts BAA opened an online archive with extensive materials on jazz in Switzerland during the years of the artistic-social awakening (1960-1980). One of the best experts on Swiss jazz, Christian Steulet, created the archive as part of the Swiss National Science Foundation SNSF-supported project "Growing Up. The Emancipation of Jazz in Switzerland 1965-1980", supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, for his dissertation* at the BUA. Steulet's all-too-early death, a year ago tomorrow, unfortunately prevented its completion.
Following an idea of his, the music academies of Bern, Lausanne and Lucerne and the University of Bern have now jointly created the website Materialien zum Jazz in der Schweiz. It comprises Steulet's private archive, so to speak:
- extensive interviews with 28 musicians and experts
- Fragments of the dissertation
- sound and film recordings
- Photos and newspaper articles

The project also sees itself as a contribution to open science.