As a listener, I find the vast majority of improvisational jazz music to be extremely roundabout and boring. The same instrumentation, the same styles, and the same scales. There are exceptions, such as Miles Davis, but I can say that my attraction to Miles is due to some specific detail that catches me. Specifically, the trumpeting.

However, when given the chance to play in a jazz setup of any sort, I find myself brimming with enthusiasm. If there is something to be said about the improvisational aspects of cool jazz, it’s that a romantic sense of danger is always looming. Your next chord could be dissonant or your momentum could easily result in a fumble. Of course I cannot speak for everyone, as I am sure seasoned jazz musicians fear little aside from a broken guitar string or drum head.

To tangent off, another extremely interesting phenomenon that is born from improvisation is the simultaneous self-reliance and dependency on fellow musicians. If I had to choose one showcase of non-verbal communication, I would be hard pressed to find something more appropriate than a trio of improvisational jazz musicians.

I think it’s this deep communication that makes the experience of playing improvisational jazz so different than listening to it. To a passerby, little more is heard than the somewhat predictable sound of instruments. To a performer, hundreds of words are silently exchanged, a story begins and ends, and through the lack of spoken word, true communication is achieved.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 5th, 2008 at 9:25 pm and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.