Jazz improvisation as an expression of the self: Exploring Coltrane’s identity in the album: A Love Supreme
Jazz improvisation as an expression of the self: Exploring Coltrane’s identity in the album: A Love Supreme Introduction -What is improvisation? -What role does it play in music performance? – Generation of new musical ideas and discovery of unique ways to express existing ones Musical improvisation has been defined in literature on creativity as the process by which a work is realized “in the course of performance” due to compositional decisions made in real-time. [1] Unlike composition, however, improvisation involves the conception and execution of musical ideas within a considerably short period. The activity takes place in the moment and, because it is spontaneous, arguably presents the least edited version of how the performer thinks, encoded in behavior.[2] It directly reflects the immediate emotions, ideas and sensations of the improviser. Since these are ever-changing, the improvising musician can hardly be confined to a specific way of executing a particular piece of Music.[3] As documented by ethnomusicologists, improvisation is the norm rather than the exception where musical traditions are transmitted orally. In many cases, this is attributed to the…