Fred Moten on the Odyssey of Improvisation
My body goes here
After Professor Carol Rovane's introduction to the panelists and theme of the conversation, the keynote speaker, philosopher Arnold Davidson, presents his views on improvisation and ethics. Davidson's interest lies not only in how ethics bears on improvisation, but what improvisation can tell us about ethics. He makes reference to the ancient tradition of self-realization through rational inquiry, or "care of the self," to explore the relation between self and other in the process of collective improvisation.
Arnold Davidson continues his discussion of the ethical implications of improvisation, illustrating his points with audio and video excerpts. The first of these is a duo performance by George E. Lewis and Evan Parker; the second is the Duke Ellington Trio.
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Eric Lewis, Lydia Goehr, Bernard Gendron, Lorenzo Simpson, and Carol Rovane share their views on improvisation and ethics, and keynote speaker Arnold Davidson responds.
Eric Lewis, Lydia Goehr, Bernard Gendron, Lorenzo Simpson, and Carol Rovane share their views on improvisation and ethics.
This talk examines the music festival documented in 2004 called Banlieues Bleues, which featured African American musicians from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Music. These musicians used improvisation to empower and give voice to children of color from marginalized Parisian suburban communities.
Columbia University
Department of Music
In the 20th Century, improvisation in the contemporary arts has served as a symbol of new models of social organization that foreground agency, history, memory, identity, personality, freedom, embodiment, cultural difference and self-determination.