Collective musical improvisation
CASTANET Pierre Albert

The musical collective improvisation was a craze noticed in the decades 1960-1970 and the blossoming of this artistic practice came under the aegis of two great myths that are freedom and spontaneity. It is a state of mind that is also found in free jazz and, like Yves Klein, in other artistic fields.
The proximity and even the porosity between modes of artistic expression are thus to be taken into account for the study of collective musical improvisation. This artistic practice makes a noticeable start and is then integrated in compositional processes, within teaching curricula and especially accompanies the rise of new technologies in real-time productions.

The moment seems opportune to make a point about the collective improvisation, its evolution, its reception and its current applications. For example, it was necessary to examine the relationship between composer and performer, thus emphasizing what is given to play (be it a score or a sound element). and that one of the common points highlighted throughout the articles is the background of an improvised sequence.
Without pretending to be exhaustive, this book is a cross of observations and questions about collective improvisation contribute to an analysis of the notion of collective art from the end of the 20th century.