Tuesday Night Crapshoot

The Tuesday Night Crapshoot is a jam session focusing on free improvisation, held the first Tuesday of the month at Red Room in Baltimore. Free improv may very well be the one musical genre that is equally accessible to musicians of all levels, from raw beginners to professional level players. Other improvisational genres have requirements that can be daunting to the beginning musician: considerable technical expertise, theoretical knowledge, intimate familiarity with the repertoire of the genre, etc. Free improv does not require any of that. This is great for the beginner, because free improv allows him/her to immediately explore the tones of his/her instrument, practice interacting with other musicians, and develop his/her creativity. This makes free improv the perfect complement to Western classical music training, with its rigid emphasis on perfect technique, interpreting the work of composers other than yourself, and not having any opportunity to spontaneously express yourself.

However, I do not wish to mislead the reader and play into the hands of free improv's detractors, who claim any 5-year-old child can free improvise as well as the likes of Cecil Taylor, Sam Rivers, or Fred Frith. There is a substantial difference in quality between the improvisations of an experienced improvising musician with total command of his/her instrument and those of a raw beginner, which become increasingly apparent to the listener as he/she listens to more and more free improv.

As for the Crapshoot itself, my main concern was how my recovering shoulder would react, as I have always been called to play 3 or more times, even when I was a beginner (my guess is the novelty of the viola, since the instrument is rarely heard in free improv). Fortunately, my shoulder held up fine even though I was called up 4-6 times (I forgot - I just remember playing a lot). Despite my long layoff from the viola due to the shoulder injury, I was confident and relaxed. I was also happy to let Jake play my viola, though the thought did not occur to me until well into the 2nd half of the jam session. He was without his instrument, and dependent on friends to lend him theirs, as I found out later; so his instrument for the night was his voice - at which he turned out to excel. He is still very much my superior on the viola, so it was also a treat to watch and here him play mine.

Other improvs that come to memory were the quacking horns - one person selected all the reed players and restricted them to percussive and short-duration notes, so they ended up sounding like chickens in a barnyard. The duet between Jake and the cellist was pretty sweet. One young electric guitarist (definitely under 18) impressed with his skills and energy. Two Theremin players (one with the top-of-the-line Moog) showed up, so it was a pleasure hearing them when they were called upon.

All in all, an excellent night.

For more information on free improv, I recommend Derek Bailey's classic book, especially the updated version.