Group Improvisation

This is a preview of the educational program A Jazz Improvisation Almanac which is under development for the Outside Shore Music Online School. Feel free to browse this preview and learn what you can from it. For a more completed product, though, check out the original freely browsable jazz textbook, A Jazz Improvisation Primer.

Jazz improvisation is not always structured into soloist and accompanists. There may be passages where everyone improvises at once in a collective fashion, with no predetermined lead voice. This was popular in the New Orleans style, but fell out of fashion until the technique was resurrected by free improvisors. However, it can be used in mainstream bebop styles as well.

When engaging in group improvisation, there are two related elements the group must control. One is how independent the various parts will be, and the other is the overall density of sound. These elements are related in that greater independence normally leads to greater density, unless the players take care to avoid this. This is not to imply that high density is to be avoided, but one should be aware that increased independence has this side effect. This is demonstrated below.

Note that playing independently does not necessarily mean no one listens to anyone else. It could mean each player considers himself the main soloist, and listens to the other musicians the way any soloist would listen to his accompaniment. This relates to the style I called Expressionism in the unit on Jazz History:

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The alternative is for each musician to consider his contribution to be part of the whole, and improvise lines that fit into what everyone else is playing. This relates to the style I called Impressionism:

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Both are valid approaches. The first example may seem to be demonstrating selfishness, but this need not be the case. It may be that the independence is precisely the desited effect, in which case, ironically, it is by playing independently (expressionism) that one helps to achieves the intended overall sound (impressionism). Also, if the musicians play independently, but each plays more sparingly that they otherwise might have, the overall density will be closer to that in the impressionistic example:

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Playing independently is not especially different from how you would approach soloing over accompaniment. It is the impressionistic approach that requires a change in mindset. You are neither a soloist nor an accompanist, but an equal partner in the proceedings. This means that at all times, you should have an idea of the overall sound that is being achieved and decide for yourself how best to contribute to it.

In the following example, it soon becomes apparent that the most important sound being created is the duet that develops between the saxophone and the piano, so the other instruments recognize this and relegate themselves to the background:

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In this example, the unifying theme appears to be the pointillistic juxtaposition of short phrases by all of the instruments, so it is up to each instrument to contribute such phrases:

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When you notice the overall texture of a group improvisation begining to change, you must decide whether to follow this new direction, or if it would be better to stay where you are. It may be that the musicians instigating the change are not trying to get everyone to follow them, but are rather trying to create contrast between what they are doing and what has been happening thus far. For example, notice how the saxophonist begins playing long tones, but the other players continue playing pointillistically:

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In this example, the other musicians found it more appropriate to follow along:

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Group improvisation also requires that individual take the lead when appropriate. If the saxophonist in the above examples had not decided to start playing long tones, the performance may have stagnated. When an idea occurs to you, feel free to express it if you think it is appropriate.

These examples have all involved free improvisation, unrestricted by the need for tempo or chord changes. Yet the same techniques can be applied in bebop as well, if you wish:

[EXAMPLE]

Copyright 2000 Outside Shore Music
Authored by Marc Sabatella

Group Improvisation