Book summary

Smartly written and with many broad-ranging interviews with musicians from a variety of disciplines, including flamenco, classical music, and jazz, guitarist Derek Bailey's IMPROVISATION: ITS NATURE AND PRACTICE IN MUSIC explores attitudes towards improvisation and the widely differing techniques adopted by artists in their practice of the art. Bailey is illuminating on the basic principles of Indian ragas, interviewing sitar player Viram Jasani and breaking down the music's elements to aid understanding of this complex and fluid form. He also talks to rock guitarist Steve Howe of Yes, who conveys something of the contemporary Western musician's attitude towards improvisation. But Bailey's main interest lies in the jazz field, and his conversations with the late soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy are fascinating on the development and methods of free improvisation and its place in the increasingly hierarchical jazz world. IMPROVISATION makes no claims to being a handbook on improvisatory technique, but Bailey is a thoughtful and occasionally brilliant guide through the many musical genres in which improvisation plays a vital role.