Monday's Improvisations "First Impressions"

[nickc]

Monday's Improvisations, cheers. 

1) The Wind (0:00)
2)  It all Ends in Counterpoint (3:40)
3)  Watercolors (6:08)
4)  The Wise Man... (9:15)
5)  Jade (11:06)
6)   Light as a Feather (13:26)
7)   Unhinged (16:30)
  Resolved (18:13)
9)    Floating Along (19:24)
10) The Final Waltz (21:28)
11)  The Road East... (23:00)

[nickc]

Would be great if I could get some feedback, cheers to all.

[ted]

I found these attractive enough to play twice through my hi-fi. Free improvisation, meaning that which does not aspire to imitate static forms amd structures of the past, has still not attained musical respectability, and response on forums just reflects that fact; so don't worry about it, it doesn't matter.

Your music seems to hold its interest, and I think the reason lies in the presence of internal phrases and accents within cells. This characteristic is completely missing in much otherwise technically fluid improvisation. Smoothness is best used with a good deal of discretion as it lacks the power of roughness to generate new ideas in the improvising mind. Uneventful serenity and repetition are, of course, as viable options as any other, but they have been overused in much recent improvised idiom.

In terms of direct response, I found its two principal qualities to be firstly an Oriental ambiance - or at least what we in the West think is Oriental - rather like guzheng music, and secondly a use of many phrasal constructions Jarrett plays. Do you listen to a lot of Jarrett ? It strikes me one or two sections could almost pass for him. If you do not, then some sort of memetic effect is at work.

Brevity obviously comes easily to you. It usually takes me about as long as your entire recording to get started, but I have a slow brain. Titles and programmes I find a hindrance to idea flow - in general, there are exceptions.I look forward to hearing more from you, perhaps of greater length, and exploring a wider musical landscape. Very enjoyable in any case.