What happens next? Imaginative presence in Gary Peacock and Lee Konitz: Divergent fields, audiation, and the unexpected

Abstract

Bassist Gary Peacock champions an intuitive aesthetic, whether improvising over standard or free jazz forms. Saxophonist Lee Konitz utilises a similarly fearless approach, improvising melodic ideas that are conceived in the moment. This can be an elusive goal for improvisers, and so this research compares the approaches of these two improvisers via transcription and analysis, and the employment of their methods in my own creative practice. In synthesising the key ideas of the two case studies, the research then presents a theory of improvising possibility, called the divergent field. This identifies a type of indeterminacy that can be used as the engine for change in the process of improvising. The divergent field describes musically ambiguous states that leave ‘what happens next’ as being up to the improviser. This aspect is examined in a creative component, Unanchored Music, An Improvising Journal 2013-16, a CD which accompanies the written exegesis and is a record of my own improvising as double bassist with several ensembles, exploring my own creative practice resulting from the writing. My improvising is informed by the jazz tradition in a creative method that involves daily practice, aural training and the study of ideas that populate my musical imagination. This has allowed me to absorb and apply aspects of this research into my own improvising, as it is motivated by a desire to discover the process that Konitz and Peacock are using while improvising, rather than imitate the final products they create. It is hoped that by focusing on this less explored aspect of the field, this thesis will contribute to improving the ongoing dialogue between player and researcher. Show more