Playing for Keeps: Improvisation in the Aftermath

Abstract

Playing for Keeps is a collection of essays bound together by the common thread of the word “improvisation” in interaction with situations of crisis, such as in the aftermath of war, as a response to destruction or occupation, or as a way of protest, healing, or reflection. The way in which improvisation comes to be expressed in each chapter is diverse, and sometimes feels foreign when moving from one essay to the next. Improvisation in certain chapters may refer to a specific musical performative act, while in other chapters, may refer to improvising creative processes (Vos), improvisation as a mode of subversive messaging (Lomanno), as a method for negotiation between different musical and cultural practices (Galloway), or as a form of “witnessing” (Fischlin). While on one hand, improvisation morphs into a catch-all, fulfilling so many different definitions and interpretations, it can also be illuminating to understand the many ways that the term can be applied to social-musical contexts. Academic writing that intersects improvisational studies and interdisciplinary arts practices (addressing improvisation from multiple academic fields and perspectives) is becoming increasingly popular in recent publications. Playing for Keeps is part of a series from Duke University Press called Improvisation, Community and Social Practice that falls into this subgenre. The other four books from the series that predate Playing for Keeps also focus on improvisation, but have slightly different approaches. The first two books in the series, People Get Ready: The Future of Jazz is Now!, and The Fierce Urgency of Now: Improvisation, Rights, and the Ethics of CoCreation focus on improvisation in jazz and its connections with social change, referring to improvisation as a mode of musical practice. The third book of the series, Negotiated Moments: Improvisation, Sound and Subjectivity views improvisation in a more interdisciplinary light, in relation to the marginalized human body. The fourth, Improvisation and Social Aesthetics, leans into the scholarly territory of mediation and understanding social aesthetics, in the context of improvisational practices. Fischlin is also the editor of the journal Critical Studies in Improvisation, which provides ongoing research and perspectives in this ever-expanding field, and creates a space for debate and collaboration in negotiating “improvisation”. The Oxford Handbook of Critical Improvisation Studies (two volumes), which like the Critical Studies in Improvisation journal also include contributions from a range of disciplines outside of music, highlight how improvisation has been central to critical thinking