The Practice of Musical Improvisation

Over several years, Bertrand Denzler and Jean-Luc Guionnet have interviewed a variety of approximately 50 musicians about their practice of musical improvisation. All interviews were recorded, transcribed and carefully edited. Musicians include both the very experienced such as Phil Durrant, Rhodri Davies, Eddie Prévost, John Butcher, Evan Parker, Axel Dörner, Phil Minton, Radu Malfatti, Otomo Yoshihide, Bill Dixon and Annette Krebs, as well as those newer to the field. Asked questions on topics such as the thought process behind a collective improvisation, the importance of the human factor in improvisation, and the technical strategies used, the interviewees highlight the habits and customs of a practice, as experienced by those who invent it on a daily basis. The collection recounts musicians’ radically personal paths to draw an incomplete map of the blurred territory of contemporary improvised music.