Context

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.

When improvising, a musician should be conscious of the context in which he is playing. This context includes several different aspects of the music, including the specific composition being played, the overall style of the performance, the role of the improvisor within the ensemble, and what is being played by the other musicians. In this section, we discuss how these factors can affect improvisation.

Thelonious Monk was a strong proponent of using the melody to a composition when improvising. Rather than base an improvisation on the chord progression alone, he advocated making reference to the melody as well, in order to preserve a sense of unity in the performance. Here is an example of a phrase from a Monk composition:

[EXAMPLE]

Here is an example of how he used this phrase in an improvisation on that composition:

[EXAMPLE]

When improvising without chords, this becomes especially important if one is to maintain any sense of continuity with the head:

[EXAMPLE]

One need not repeat exact phrases from the original composition in order to achieve this effect. For example, notice how the following composed melody outlines an ascending diminished arpeggio motif:

[EXAMPLE}

An improvisation on this composition might use this idea, even if it does not include the specific arpeggio found in the head:

[EXAMPLE]

One might also borrow rhythmic devices or a particular articulation pattern from the composition to use in improvisation, as in the following example:

[EXAMPLE]

The style of the performance is another consideration. Often, an arrangement of a composition is based on a particular "groove" or "hook" which serves to unify that particular arrangement. For example, here is a composed melody line:

[EXAMPLE]

And here is an arrangement of that composition that uses a particular hook as a structuring device:

[EXAMPLE]

An improvisation on this arrangement should consider both the original melody and the hook used in the arrangement:

[EXAMPLE]

In jazz, most improvisation takes the form of a solo against accompaniment, usually provided by the rhythm section. The accompaniment is generally improvised as well. When improvising an accompaniment, a musician takes a more subordinate role:

[EXAMPLE]

When an arrangement calls for collective improvisation, a different aesthetic is required. There may be no single soloist to defer to, but one should strive to balance and respond to what everyone else is playing:

[EXAMPLE]

Even in a soloist-against-rhythm-section setting, most styles of jazz allow for dialogue between the soloist and the accompaniment. While the soloist is generally expected to generate most of the ideas and the direction for the solo, he should not be oblivious to any ideas offered by the accompanists. These ideas can take the form of particular motifs that the soloist might wish to develop:

[EXAMPLE]

The accompaniment may also suggest an appropriate intensity level. For example, over the following backing, a relatively subdued solo is probably called for:

[EXAMPLE]

While this backing suggests a more energetic solo:

[EXAMPLE]

These suggestions can work the other way as well. Here, the soloist plays an idea that the rhythm section responds to:

[EXAMPLE]

The dialogue between the soloist and the accompanists is one of the most compelling elements of jazz and is one of the most important opportunities for the application of creativity. Not only do listeners pick up on this communication, but it can also be one of the most satisfying aspects of a performance to the musicians themselves. How you choose to interact with the other musicians in an ensemble is entirely up to you, however.

Copyright 2000 Outside Shore Music
Authored by Marc Sabatella

Context