This course will examine various strategies for the integration of composition and improvisation explored by creative music pioneers over the past 50 years. Musical examples may include Albert Ayler, Anthony Braxton, Ornette Coleman, Bill Dixon, Jimmy Giuffre, Wadada Leo Smith, Cecil Taylor, Henry Threadgill, and John Zorn, among others, with an emphasis on contemporary performers and original compositions. Students will investigate existing structural models as a means to begin developing their own ideas, compositions, and improvisational voices. |