Improvisation is composing on the spot, when a singer or instrumentalist invents melodies and lines over a chord progression played by rhythm section instruments (piano, guitar, double bass) and accompanied by drums.When soloing, a performer (instrumentalist or singer) creates a new melodic line to fit a song's chord progression.During the swing era, performers improvised solos by ear by using riffs and variations on the tune's melody.), the rhythm section members typically improvise their accompaniment parts, an activity called comping.The altered extensions played by a jazz guitarist or jazz pianist on an altered dominant chord on G might include (at the discretion of the performer) a flatted ninth A♭ (a ninth scale degree flattened by one semitone); a sharp eleventh C♯ (an eleventh scale degree raised by one semitone) and a flattened thirteenth E♭ (a thirteenth scale degree lowered by one semitone).With bebop's complex tunes and chords and fast tempo, melodic embellishments and playing by ear were no longer sufficient to enable performers to improvise effectively.The chord resolves to C and the note A♭ leads to G.[1] Pentatonic scales are also commonly used in jazz improvisation, drawing perhaps from their use in the blues.Alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, who is considered to be an exemplar of jazz improvisation, paid special attention to the beginning and ending of his solos where he placed signature patterns that he developed over the years.With his strong beginning, Parker was free to create solos that demonstrated musical phrasing and led to a logical and memorable conclusion.[3] However, "there is no Emily Post handbook for these protocols, but people who drink in the culture of jazz learn what these conventions are."[3] There are no strict rules, but rather general social protocols that guide the players through when to begin their improvisational solo and when to end.[5] According to one model of repetition, defined by Gilles Deleuze, is the synthesis of time through memory that creates something new for the subject who is remembering.[7] In psychoanalysis, repetition is an important aspect of identity formation and is associated with what Sigmund Freud called the death drive.[6] Improvisational music also has a social dimension that is influenced by the time, place, history, and culture in which it is performed.This means that listening to improvisational music can be a way to engage with these specific historical and cultural contexts.[3] Eugene W. Holland has proposed jazz improvisation as a model for social and economic relations in general.[8][9] Edward W. Sarath has proposed jazz improvisation as a model for change in music, education, and society.Jazz improvisation presents an image or representation of the ways in which humans engage with and interact with one another and the world around them, through a variety of linguistic, gestural, and expressive means.Through this process, musicians can collectively negotiate and ultimately constitute their shared musical and cultural space,[11] which is important to the ethics of jazz improvisation since it highlights the collaborative and interactive nature of jazz improvisation and how music reflects and engages with the world.
Jazz improvisation by Col Loughnan (tenor saxophone) at the Manly Jazz Festival with the Sydney Jazz Legends. Loughnan was accompanied by Steve Brien (guitar), Craig Scott (double bass, face obscured), and Ron Lemke (drums).