Riddle of America, The - Waldorf Research Institute

structure—but somehow something new was born with elements of both.)Some scholars have stressed that Black people in early American experiencecould not depend on law or institutions, and so for sheer survival had to“live by their wits.” Life itself had to be improvised, and there was littlemargin for error. Therefore, the music was necessarily improvisational. Theimprovisational nature of jazz can not be overemphasized. When WyntonMarsalis was asked if there could be jazz without improvisation, he said,“Yes, but it won’t sound as good.” In the same interview Marsalis likensjazz without improvisation to playing basketball without the basket. 1 Indeed,while other folk music around the world may provide an opportunity formasterful improvisation, in American jazz, the improvisation is both “heart”and reason to be.The jazz soloist leads innovatively; he strikes out into an unknownmusical landscape. He has a progression and/or established melody butmust chart a particular and original path, taking risky steps that other ensembleplayers may never have imagined. Hours of practice, knowledge ofscales, chord progressions, and an understanding of repertory are necessaryhere, but imagination and courage to innovate through improvisation arealso essential. Yet this is not a one-person performance. The soloist charts acourse, but he must be in constant communication with ensemble members.He can go into uncharted waters, but it must be done with the other musiciansor the boat sinks.Bluegrass music is also difficult to define. It developed with less ofan African influence and was dependent on European folk music in the beginning.These, however, were reworked and Americanized in subtle ways.The practice of various ensemble players taking a “break” or solo is certainlyakin to jazz practice, and many of the same social and musical necessitiespertain here as in jazz. Bill Monroe, father of bluegrass, is reported to havesaid that bluegrass is like baseball—it is a team sport, but everybody has tocome up to bat. Jazz and bluegrass composers are often struck by what happenswhen their compositions are played in these conductorless ensembles.They experience their own musical ideas augmented, embellished, andoften completely transformed by their fellows. Often this is such an intenseexperience for the composer that in the process he will get new ideas andmay spontaneously do something he has never done with the piece.Last summer I went with a friend to a fiddlers’ picnic near Lancaster,Pennsylvania. After making several wrong turns, we found the gatheringin a small town park—a single policeman was directing traffic to parkingin a field across the road. As we walked closer to the picnic grounds, thecacophonous buzz of stringed instruments mixed with harmonizing voices90