David Runnion:

>I've always enjoyed improvising.

I was really interested to read David's post about spontaneous
improvisation.  Many many years ago I was quite deeply involved in
free jazz / spontaneous improvisation (including being involved with
the infamous "Natural Music" concert in Cambridge at the end of the '60's
that featured John Lennon and Yoko Ono as well as several luminaries of
the European jazz world such as John Tchicai).  It can be a wonderful and
very profound experience to make music with a small number of like-minded
friends in a situation where there are no rules, no guide-lines and no
pre-planned destination.  Of course it is never really "free" - there are
shapes and structures that always attract you, and every player has his own
set of techniques and strategies to cope with the unexpected.  Much of the
interest comes from the tension between the lack of rules on the one hand
and the natural tendency to fall back on the "expected" on the other.  On
the other hand, spontaneous improvisation can be sheer hell for listeners,
even ones with a good deal of experience of doing it themselves and who
know the musicians who are performing.  It is very much music for the
performers, not for listeners who stand outside the performance.

I haven't yet listened to David's MP3s, because I wanted to reply to his
post without being influenced by whatever I may feel about them.  I'm just
delighted by any sign of a return of the improvisatory element to classical
music.  The reply is late because I've been a bit out of action recovering
from a hernia operation, as well as being very quiet on this list these
days anyway.  But I will be listening to them soon.

Ian Crisp
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