Making music together, or improvisation and its others
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jazz.v1i1.5Keywords:
jazz, jazz musicians, history of jazz, modern jazzAbstract
I can focus my topic through two diametrically opposed quotations concerning the relationship between jazz and the music of the Western 'art' tradition. One the one hand, Ingrid Monson (1996:74) writes that 'meaningful theorizing about jazz improvisation at the level of the ensemble must take the interactive, collaborative context of musical invention as a point of departure. This context has no parallel in the musical practice of Western classical composers of the common practice period'. On the other hand, Alfred Schutz (1964:177) writes that 'there is no difference in principle between the performance of a string quartet and the improvisations at a jam session of accomplished jazz players'. Reconciliation is impossible; the standoff could hardly be more complete.
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