Re: The Artist's Right To Be Boring (was: Re: the best.... the worst....)

[Stefan Tiedje <Stefan-Tiedje@addcom.de>]

Per Boysen schrieb:
> I'm not sure I'm prepared, any more, to subscribe to this idea of 
> "starting out with a blank slate". The background is that I have 
> noticed, after doing many improvised concerts, that I have developed a 
> mental and emotional reference system within, that for me as the 
> performer is exactly the opposite of a "a blank slate".

I could agree partially, in terms of that you often aren't aware of your 
existing palette of possibilities as something which is already there. I 
think many of the free jazz attempts failed because they had the 
assumption they are free, when they weren't, hindering them to get a 
blank slate to start with. If I define myself as free, I am probably  
not...
When I come to a place to perform, I try to be as free as possible, but 
in the moment I am in there, my slate will be filled, its a bit like a 
painter who would definitely start with a blank slate, but as soon you 
look out of the window the process of filling it in the head will start 
already. And of course you have your personal palette of doing things. 
But if you need less of your palette, the outcome will be more 
surprising for yourself, which is what I am after. The palette is for 
filling the gaps.
There is nothing wrong with a non blank slate, its more the ideal of a 
really free improvisation, I am aware that his is not very close to a 
real situation, we are all bound into the context of our own history and 
experience, and its easy to grab one of our tricks to get the music 
going...
And I also like to do conceptual improvisations, with a predefined 
theme, or a predefined imagined "story". Sometimes this frees up other 
creative resources...

Stefan

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Stefan Tiedje------------x-------
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