Title: Manteca
Performer: Dizzy Gillespie's Dream Band
Culture/Origin: American
Orchestration: Jazz band
Along with the topic of improvisation and composition, the jazz band does both, where the structure of the pieces are set, but the improvisations are spontaneous. The band rehearses the ensemble parts as a set composition and that comes across when they play. The improvisational parts can be "composed" as the song goes along, though, as long as the chordal base is still there. While different cultures depend on different things to signal changes, jazz compositions have set chords, but not set notes to be played. The Western European way has set everything in compositions and Arabian and Balinese cultures vary length of the piece on the audience's response to the music. The variety of how each culture structures and improvises is vastly different, but jazz is America's most improvisational music.
I definitely agree with everything you had to say on this post! The jazz band is playing a composition while there is spontaneous improvisation going on at the same time. Some people do not believe that Jazz is the most improvisational music but I definitely agree. Jazz is the biggest opportunity for improvisation to take place. I feel as if there is no point to jazz is there is no improvisation.
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