Benton-C Bainbridge
I was basking in one of NYC's great pleasures-Summerstage- floating along with the interweaving lines of guitar and mandolin at a performance of jazz and Indian classical music. And then one of New
York's great headaches burst our bubble - we all cringed as a car alarm went off and blared its discordant two-tones. John MacLaughlin's fingers paused as he turned and shared a smile with U. Shrinivas and
then began plucking a lazy, daydreaming mimic of the siren. The audience laughed and was drawn back into the music as its fabric shifted to accomodate the rude guest until it went silent.
'Impromptu' means 'done without planning or rehearsal' but the Latin root "in promptu" means 'in readiness' - a more or less opposite meaning which lays bare the underlying reality; spontaneous creation requires a lot of preparation.
When dancers talk the conversation always comes around to the classes they've taken that week. Musicians, we know, constantly rehearse to maintain fluency. And exhibitions of painters and sculptors often include numerous quick sketches, 'studies' which feed into a final product, however improvised the final work may appear.
Constant study is also key to my practice.
Share Article 
