from the Big Question Dept.
ok, this is kind of a difficult question/subject to broach/discuss, but here goes ...
Why is it that improvisation has been such a key element in all black music movements throughout American history? (Thinking of blues, jazz, funk, hiphop, and now crunk [and now hyphy. -ed])
I suppose it could simply be the case that improvisation was introduced early (ie, jazz/blues) and all the other movements have built upon each other so that motif was repeated. But I think there must be some other reason that this particular element has repeatedly carried through, and has always been so central to each movement.
I'm just going to go out on a limb and say there is something extremely liberating about improvisation. Its like saying, perparations, money, lessons, anything, I can stand here and express my identity/ideas/relevence/intelligence (things that have all been denied of black people in many and varried ways throughout history) as good or better than any other person who is standing here improvising with me. Its like it makes the past and future irrelevent.
Of course this is not all entirely true since it requires immense amounts of time and preparation to have the abilities to improvise in a meaningful way. But I think its the feeling more than the actuality.
Anyway, thats just my random theory. Would be interested to hear anything anyone else has to say.
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