A reflection over solo Improvisation
There are discussions within the Improvised music-scene about whether solo concerts can be improvised or not. Why? Simply because you don’t have any fellow musicians with whom you can communicate. Sure, the concept of a solo concert is radically different from any form of ensemble concert (duo, trio and so on). But just because you play solo doesn’t mean that you can’t communicate as a solo artist. as Evan Parker said:
When you play solo, you’ve got all the space, the acoustic space, the artistic space, It's all yours. But also you have to do all the work, so the two things balance out in some ways. All the space - but all the responsibility as well.1
So, I think that for sure that you can communicate while you are improvising as a solo artist. However, you are communicating with the spatiality and with your audience and with yourself. As a solo-artist, I tend to and also have the possibilities to structure a musical form both before and during my performances. When I play with others, it's more about intuitive communication between musicians. Ultimately the most important detail in all kinds of settings, is to find flow. To end up in a state where everything revolves around the art and the here and now.
1:Denzler & Guionnet (2020), The practice of musical improvisation. Bloomsbury. P.148
