Analyzing Free Improvisation: Oregon 's "Taos" and the Negotiation of Metric Coherence

John W. White

In collective free improvisation, a practice becoming increasingly prevalent, improvisers bind together in one complex skill the acts of composing, listening, and performing. In addition to materials and relationships, improvisers create contexts involving aspects of rhythm and meter. Examining the creation of metric designs in free improvisation illuminates a sophisticated musical technique frequently neglected in scholarly investigation. In addition, such investigation emphasizes the active qualities of form as a process that, as a skilled behavior, can be cultivated and refined. This study presents an approach for analyzing significant procedures for shaping metric stability (that is, metric coherence) in collective free improvisation by examining a free piece recorded by the contemporary ensemble Oregon.

Oregon

The chamber ensemble Oregon is unique in the contemporary music milieu. The members of this group are each composers and multi-instrumentalists, and their combined experiences encompass a wide scope of musical traditions. Table 1 lists the personnel and basic instrumentation of the group. Ralph Towner earned a degree in composition from the University of Oregon in 1963. He later studied classical guitar in Vienna with Karl Schiet, and returned in the late 1960s to the New York City music scene, where he worked primarily as a jazz pianist. ⁽¹⁾ Glen Moore performed with Towner when they were undergraduates at the University of Oregon, much inspired by the jazz recordings of the piano-bass duo Bill Evans and Scott LaFaro. Later in Copenhagen and eventually back in New York City he played with such jazz artists as Dexter Gordon, Ben Webster, Jake Hanna, and Zoot Sims, among others. ⁽²⁾ While pursuing undergraduate study in classical oboe at Duquesne University during the mid-1960s, Paul McCandless managed a second "commercial life" in the Pittsburgh club scene. ⁽³⁾ Graduate study at the Manhattan School of Music took him to New York City, where he subsequently became the improvising double reed player in the Paul Winter Consort.

After early training as an orchestral percussionist, Collin Walcott obtained a graduate degree from UCLA in ethnomusicology. He studied tabla with All Rakha and sitar with Ravi Shankar (while serving as Shankar's road manager in the late 1960s) and ultimately came to play instruments from every continent around the world. Eventually he moved to New York where he performed and recorded in a number of diverse settings with musicians such as Meredith Monk, Don Cherry, and Nana Vasconcelos, among others. ⁽⁴⁾ Trilok Gurtu replaced Collin Walcott in 1985 after the latter's untimely death in 1984. Born in Bombay, Gurtu studied tabla from an early age and, like McCandless, managed a second musical life in jazz and rock on the Bombay hotel circuit. ⁽⁵⁾ Eventually he relocated to Hamburg where he quickly became a fixture in the European contemporary music scene, recording with such artists as Charlie Mariano, Barre Phillips, and John McGlaughlin.

Ralph Towner: classical guitar, 12-string guitar, piano, trumpet/cornet, flugelhorn, French horn, synthesizer

Paul Mc Candless: oboe, English horn, piccolo saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, flute, tin whistle, wind-driven synthesizer

Glen Moore: double bass, piano, violin, flute

Collin Walcott (until 1984): tabla, sitar, sansa, percussion, hammer dulcimer, clarinet, guitar, and piano

Trilok Gurtu (1985 - 1993): tabla, congas, percussion

Table 1: Oregon Personnel and Basic Instrumentation

The members of Oregon first performed together as part of the Paul Winter Consort in 1967. By 1970 they had formed their own ensemble, which still continues to perform and record today. Given the group's broad stylistic and instrumental base, a rich potential has always existed for their music to assume numerous eclectic blends of sounds and textures. Towner explains that when they formed Oregon, they "wanted to have a versatile group that was committed to playing a different concert each night. Between us, we play as many as 50 different instruments, and we are continually exploring new combinations of [sounds] and new forms of improvisation." ⁽⁶⁾ Critic and author Len Lyons states that "the key to Oregon 's success, over and above its multi-instrumental capacity, is that the musicians are less soloists than improvisers. Their music is a genuine blend of personalities and sounds." ⁽⁷⁾

Oregon has routinely drawn upon a wide palette of musical traditions, including Western classical, jazz, Eastern European, classical Indian, and North African, to create a unique multidimensional style. Describing their accomplishments up to the time of Walcott's death, John Schaefer, host of National Public Radio's "New Sounds," says that "this mixture of different musical traditions was accomplished without a trace of self-consciousness, and the various instruments and styles were integrated to such a degree that the music transcended its hybrid roots. Only when you saw it listed on paper would you realize that the tin whistle, tongue drum, and synthesizer were not instruments one heard together every day." ⁽⁸⁾ The addition of Gurtu naturally changed Oregon 's multidimensional recipe due to his stronger roots in jazz and rhythm-and-blues as compared to Walcott. Although they retained their classical reference and sense of orchestral ensemble, with Gurtu their music became more intense and jazz-oriented, at times more explosive and "grooving harder" than anything they had done before. ⁽⁹⁾

Critics have described their music in a number of ways: jazz chamber music, classical chamber music incorporating Indian and African elements, classical music with a jazz energy, a fusion-jazz quartet, acoustic fusion, world music, surreal global synthesis, an eclectic mix evoking similarities with avant garde conservatory music, and even as "an acoustic, improvisational confluence of classical motifs, ethnic percussion, and environments performed amidst a Renaissance air." ⁽¹⁰⁾ The music industry's inability to place Oregon into a specific style category reflects the degree to which the group transcends classification. Commonly used categories are just too narrow for the music Oregon produces. This artistic success has, unfortunately, limited their market exposure to an American public and press that seems to depend upon clear style divisions or "star appeal." ⁽¹¹⁾ Towner points out that "Oregon isn't confined to a jazz audience. We could have an even broader audience, but we're limited by the media that play the kind of music that we do. [Our music] doesn't seem to be too categorizable; it's not jazz, and it's not folk, and it's not classical." ⁽¹²⁾ Nonetheless, to this day the group remains quite popular in Europe. Moore attributes this in part to the European public's greater understanding and appreciation of both the jazz and classical traditions upon which the group is founded. ⁽¹³⁾

Oregon 's cross-country touring and concertizing as part of the early Paul Winter Consort was crucial to the group's later development in several ways:

1. They were exposed to non-Western musics and learned to blend together eclectic instrumental combinations; ⁽¹⁴⁾

2.They saw that it was possible to expand beyond the confines of smoke-filled nightclubs and perform eclectic, improvisatory music in the concert hall; ⁽¹⁵⁾

3. They cultivated the practice of free group improvisation in front of a concert audience.

Almost the only selection to appear consistently on every Consort concert was a free improvisation titled "(Lose Your Mind and) Come to Your Senses." It was always performed with the lights out, which neutralized conventional performance limitations and encouraged new, creative activities (for example, picking up an unfamiliar instrument and making all sorts of unconventional sounds). As time went on, the players brought more and more instruments along on tour to play in these free settings. ⁽¹⁶⁾

When the members of Oregon broke away to form their own group, they continued the practice of freely improvising pieces in concert settings. As time went on, these "free pieces" became as important a vehicle for the group's development as did their composed pieces. Free pieces fostered deeper interpersonal connections and encouraged them to explore new stylistic and technical possibilities. In the early years of their concertizing, the players would utilize in their free improvisations whatever new instruments they were experimenting with at the time. According to Moore, a free piece was a great way to explore new instruments conversationally without technical limitations getting in the way; one did not have to "really know" an instrument in order to play it in this context. Conversational gestures, sound shapes, and role playing were emphasized to a great degree. ⁽¹⁷⁾

Over time, a large battery of sounds evolved, expanding the dimensions of the group's sound (refer to Table 1). In addition, since each player performed with other musicians in between Oregon gigs, the context of the free piece became a way to experiment with and bring into the group the latest influences they had absorbed individually. Eventually, some of the new stylistic areas discovered in their improvisatory explorations were incorporated into the group's written compositions. Thus, free improvisation was fundamental in helping the group expand their collective stylistic breadth. ⁽¹⁸⁾

Style and Design of Free Improvisations

In performance Oregon utilizes free improvisation in three ways: as a way to open a live concert (usually followed immediately by a segue to a composed piece), as a link between two composed pieces in live concert situations, and as a self-contained composition found predominantly on studio recordings. No notated guides or pre-approved formulae are used in doing this; the extemporized materials and forms are completely spontaneous. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Yet, this free-form improvisation does not equate with formlessness. Towner maintains that although "it is all spontaneous, . . . the idea is that you are not avoiding form. When you play together with people long enough you develop a sense of collective unconsciousness." ⁽²⁰⁾

The group's 1983 ECM compact disc Oregon marks their first use of synthesizer in a studio recording and, unlike any of their previous studio sessions, contains as many free pieces as composed pieces (four each). ⁽²¹⁾ Manfred Eicher, the creator of the ECM label and executive producer of the recording session, wanted to feature the group's unique improvisational abilities on a recording oriented primarily towards freely improvised works. Given Eicher's prescription, Oregon 's goal for this session was to make each free piece a different stylistic "place" having a coherent, unique context. ⁽²²⁾ As a result, these improvisations differ significantly from many of their previously recorded free pieces as well as from the typical linking free piece used in concert settings, especially in terms of style and changes in instrumentation.

Prior to 1983, in the group's pre-synthesizer days, a major goal in the free pieces was to find ways of combining on stage all the sounds and colors available to them. ⁽²³⁾ When used as a link between composed works, the free pieces often followed a generic script that had the players start with the instruments already in hand and gradually evolve to the instruments that were to begin the following composition. ⁽²⁴⁾ This procedure fostered great timbral diversity and a pluralistic conversational mode in each improvisation; many musical "topics" were discussed by many different personalities that corresponded to the ways each player spoke with a different instrument.

By contrast, on the 1983 recording, each free piece has an unchanging instrumentation (Walcott's percussion battery excepted). As a consequence, the topics of musical conversation survive for longer periods of time. This fosters structurally deeper and more sophisticated relationships between set, specific sounds, realized by exploiting more extended uses of each instrument: expanded ranges and different registers, different methods of articulation and nuances of timbral shading, and greater dynamic changes. At a broader level, consistent instrumentation promotes greater formal coherency and stylistic unity than in previously recorded free improvisations.

By this time in their career, the group had had lots of experience cultivating the craft of free improvisation. Comparing earlier recorded free pieces with the 1983 recording reveals a remarkable growth in maturity and technique in this area. McCandless explains that "on Music of Another Present Era [one of their earliest recordings, from 1972], there are many short pieces because we weren't really able to sustain a long form at that point. And as people's abilities in this new style grew, we were able to support more and more time and larger pieces." ⁽²⁵⁾ By 1983 the players' improvisational skill had developed to a point where they were able to stay with extemporaneous material for long periods of time, which allowed for greater motivic development, structural cohesion, and stylistic homogeneity in each free piece.

Oregon 's recorded free pieces provide a rich resource for the study of free improvisation for several reasons: (1) they lie outside of any pre-established system of improvisation (e.g., jazz); (2) they are created by improvisers well-experienced in this skill; (3) they are content-driven rather than shaped by external or predetermined schemes; (4) they reflect a concern for large-scale coherence that resonates with classical compositional values. Also, these improvisations, especially those on the 1983 recording, reflect much of the contemporary musical melange: use of synthesizers and electronic amplification, exploration of new timbres, sophisticated mixtures of tonal and non-tonal pitch organization, interesting blends of metric and ametric patterning, and exploitation of a large arsenal of Western and non-Western materials, procedures, and instruments. In many respects their improvisations reflect the improvisational/compositional principles of the avant-garde and free jazz movements. At the same time, however, the music maintains a coherent identity outside of these two ideologies.

The recorded 1983 free improvisations illuminate the breadth and depth of Oregon 's musicality. Collectively, the works represent the last recorded examples of free improvisation produced by the original Oregon roster, since Walcott died shortly thereafter. These works are thus a benchmark, representing at the highest level of experience and refinement the skill of an ensemble that had been practicing the craft of group free improvisation for thirteen or more years prior to these recordings. To some degree this study is a measure of their success in that arena.

Although I have examined numerous recorded free improvisations by the group, in this article I will make specific reference only to the free piece "Taos" (from the 1983 recording). ⁽²⁶⁾ Throughout the piece the players limit themselves to just a few instruments: tin whistle, guitar, Prophet 5 synthesizer, double bass, and percussion battery (cymbal, high hat, hand drum, tongue drum). ⁽²⁷⁾ Walcott coined the title for this improvisation. ⁽²⁸⁾ The sound of the tongue drum and synthesizer filter sweep called to mind idiomatic timbres of early New Age musics: non-Western, "ethnic" percussion (xylophones such as the amadinda, wooden slit drums, etc.) and exotic synthesizer sounds (especially of an ambient, mellow nature). The geographic reference is to a town in northern New Mexico, site of a Native American pueblo ruin and a mecca for artists, writers, and tourists.

At the broadest level of architecture "Taos" exhibits a clear scheme of progressive intensification to climax followed by abatement and dissolution. In projecting this design, the players coordinate their activity to a high degree, a trait that sets "Taos" apart from the other free pieces appearing on the 1983 recording. In this regard, the creation of meter plays a distinguishing role.

Strategies for Structuring Meter

Oregon's approaches to rhythmic structuring in free improvisation involve the creation of both metric and ametric fabrics. Table 2 lists the numerous procedures used by Oregon in shaping metric coherence. The creation of metric stability often fosters dynamic, intensifying activity in other parameters (e.g., the introduction of new pitch patterning). The use of strategies to destabilize meter usually adds varying degrees of tension on the musical surface and contributes to a piece's forward momentum. Strategies for both creating and countering metric regularity are often employed simultaneously, producing a sense of rhythmic tension that propels the improvisation forward. Without a metric organizing force, ametric sections feature greater differentiation of individual rhythmic patterning types. Organization of rhythmic events in such a context depends much more on player interaction and on choices made to emulate or counter the activity of another player. Changes in event density throughout a passage affect rhythmic design on all levels of structure and reflect the players' awareness of the effects of directed motion.

Table 2: Procedures for Shaping Metric Coherence

The improvisation "Taos" consists of both metric and ametric sections, making it an ideal piece with which to examine the procedures mentioned above. Figure 1 displays a formal overview and textural design of "Taos." The activity of each player is represented on a horizontal line across the figure (hereafter referred to as a player's timeline). The texture of an Oregon free improvisation reflects the ways in which the players coordinate activity and interrelate as the piece develops. They negotiate relationships in a vertical dimension differentiated hierarchically into textural strata according to melodic prominence and necessities posed by the material. Complicated interaction among players, especially in longer improvisations, produces stratification   into at least three textural layers: "foreground," "middleground," and "background." ⁽²⁹⁾ Hierarchical differentiation between layers corresponds to relative degrees of melodic importance or accompanimental significance. Foreground versus background textural activity compares to a traditional melody-versus-accompaniment hierarchy. Activity on the middleground level is more significant than accompanimental activity (background) but still subordinate to primary melodic activity (foreground). As an improvisation evolves, players may move from one level to another. In FIgure 1, foreground activity is represented by a thick solid line, middleground activity by a thin solid line, and background activity by a dashed line. A player often projects linear activity into multiple registers, thereby forming a compound melodic line (Walcott achieves a similar effect by expanding his percussion battery from one to multiple instruments). In Figure 1, single player stratification of this sort can easily be seen by the branching out of a timeline. Among other effects, this improvisational strategy thickens the textural fabric and usually heightens prevailing levels of intensity.

Figure 1: "Taos": Textural Design and Overview of Form

Scanning Figure 1 from left to right shows how "Taos" develops through time. The improvisation ultimately parses into three broad sections, labelled A, B, and C. Cursory descriptions of activity are supplied by either text or musical symbols. Clock timings for significant events appear within rectangular boxes. Vertical and diagonal arrows between timelines portray textural interaction among the players. A white or open arrow denotes an aurally obvious example of one player directly influencing the patterning of another player. Possible influence (not aurally obvious) is indicated by a dashed-line open arrow. Black arrows chart the flow of more general give-and-take interaction among players. Arrow points convey the flow of player interaction and influence. Single-pointed arrows trace the direction of interaction from initiator to respondent at the start of an interactive passage. Points at both ends of an arrow suggest some type of congruent, reciprocal interactivity, which produces a tighter fabric.

An important feature of "Taos" is the negotiation of metric stability as the piece develops and structure accumulates on various levels, especially in light of a dramatic, broad-level formal climax roughly two-thirds of the way through the improvisation. Figure 1 shows this point of climax occurring at the juncture between sections B and C at timepoint [4:00]. The discussion that follows will focus primarily on strategies used by the musicians (1) to shape metric design in progressing toward this major climax point and (2) to shape ametric, post-climactic motion in the final section as structural intensity abates and a satisfactory ending is negotiated.

The negotiation of metric coherence in "Taos" is clearly discernible when listening to the recording. Its impact is profound, especially because it affects structuring processes in other parameters: (1) it provides a unifying element on the rhythmic surface; (2) it creates a stable, hierarchical matrix of beats with which to coordinate pitch events; (3) it fosters thinking, planning, and shaping over broad spans of structure; (4) it allows the creation of textural relationships unique to metrical contexts (e.g., a rhythmic canon); (5) it allows players to shape motion along lines of graduated degrees of intensity according to synchronous or asynchronous relationships with prevailing meter.

Walcott's Role

Throughout the improvisation, percussionist Walcott plays a primary role in establishing metric coherence. As others enter the texture, they position themselves rhythmically according to what he has already established and often emulate his specific procedures for creating or countering metric stability. The following examples highlight some of these procedures.

Example 1 shows some of Walcott's approaches to creating and countering metric stability in the beginning of "Taos." As seen in line (a), his repetitive, motivic use of an arpeggiated A triad projects a sense of duple or quadruple grouping structure and, when used for long stretches of time (as in mm. 3-6), creates an expectation of regular grouping recurrence. By measure 5 a strong sense of grouping regularity has been established, a ground against which he juxtaposes interruptive, syncopated patterning (e.g., a few beats of silence in mm. 6-7). Walcott uses momentary silence throughout this entire section to break up the steady eighth-note pulsation, to counter prevailing metric organization, and to partition his activity into phrases. ⁽³⁰⁾

In addition, he uses two very specific patterning strategies to disrupt the prevailing metric scheme. Shown in lines (b) through (d), these are labeled as "disruptive motives" x1 and x2. Lines (b) and (c) display the first occurrence of these two motives: x1 is a regrouping of the pulse stream in threes, x2 is a nullification of grouping emphasis due to lengthy repetition of a single pitch. Walcott adapts these motives in numerous ways to create rhythmic variety. For example, starting at [0:39], Walcott combines first x2 then x1 with dynamic contrasts, pulse-value rests, and occasional pitch changes to overlay metric groupings of 3/2 and 3/8 on the pulse stream. Line (d) is an example of x2 used on a smaller scale in conjunction with off-beat accentuation. Line (e) is an example of x1 used to reconfigure the Atriad arpeggiation.

Walcott's strategy of varying surface patterning results in a number of important design features. One result is that no regularly recurring metric grouping (that is, what in a score would be a notated meter signature) coheres until approximately [0:59], the point at which both guitarist Towner and Walcott negotiate stable quadruple meter patterning. This is shown in Figure 1 by (1) the solid arrow connecting the guitar and percussion timelines at [0:59], and (2) the first appearance of a meter signature. ⁽³¹⁾ Towner's re-entrance and movement to the textural foreground by [0:54] help precipitate this metric regularity. Another result of Walcott's variable rhythmic patterning is that it helps him avoid ostinato regularity, which would cause his activity to slip into the accompanimental background. Instead, he remains in the textural foreground, interacting with Towner throughout the entire section. Up to his brief exit at [2:18], Walcott continues to vary his rhythmic patterning by using the strategies discussed above.

Example 1: "Taos", Section A: Procedures Used by Walcott to Establish or Counter Metric Stability

Example 2: "Taos", Section A: Variable Groupings in Suspended Cymbal Patterning, mm. 114-123. Note

the predominant 8-beat regularity at a broader hypermetric level.

  Example 2 displays Walcott's ability to vary surface design while creating metric regularity at higher architectural levels. Although the suspended cymbal entrance at the beginning of section B is initially a foreground event, the stability created by repeated eighth-note articulations quickly moves it into the textural middleground behind more varied double bass activity. Even at this textural level, however, Walcott counters the tendency toward metric stasis by varying pattern lengths. On the example, level 1 represents the rhythmic surface and levels 2 and 3 broader (hypermetric) levels. ⁽³²⁾ Subtle pitch variations produced by striking the cymbal in different locations are indicated by alternating pitch levels on the staff.

At measure 115 [2:40] Walcott introduces a variably recurring quarter note into the stream of articulations, patterning that helps segment the pulse stream into multiple-beat length units. He combines quarter-note grouping lengths of 2, 3, and 4 units in a way that thwarts surface-level regularity, yet normalizes into predominantly 8-quarter-note units at the next hypermetric level. By measure 122 [2:50], 8-beat units synchronize with downbeats, marking the point at which suspended cymbal activity coheres with the emerging metric stability. Example 3 displays slight variations of this 8-beat pattern that occur later on in section B, demonstrating Walcott's procedure of varying repetitious patterning in order to keep his sound fresh and invigorating.

Example 3: "Taos", Section B: Repeating 8-beat Pattern in Percussion Activity [3:25 -3:54], with Variation

A process fundamental to the formation of "Taos" is the coordinated movement from conditions of instability to those of stability. ⁽³³⁾ In the discussion that follows, this strategy will be referred to as the formative growth process, suggesting its essential role in procedures of development and formal construction. The formative growth process appears in numerous design schemes (rhythmic and otherwise), including (1) passages of structural growth (for example, groove coherence, textural accumulation, intensification toward climax), and (2) motion from loose structural connections and fluctuation (resulting in tension and progression) to coherence and relative stasis. A number of such processes exist in "Taos," both sequentially (in cycles) and hierarchically (processes within processes). The phases and representative symbols of this structural process are displayed in Table 3. Note that reaching a plateau of relative stability often promotes a new "plot" development (such as the entrance of another instrument or a significant change of activity), which in turn creates a condition of instability and engages a new cycle (suggested by the upward pointing arrow).

Table 3: Taos: Phases in the formative growth process from unstable to stable conditions.

Example 4 demonstrates the operation of this process on a small scale. Picking up where Example 3 leaves off, Example 4 documents two occurrences of a formative growth process within span [2:53--3:15]. Immediately after achieving 8-beat regularity by [2:51], Walcott introduces high-hat into the texture (measure 124). Pattern stability fluctuates for a few seconds while he experiments with pulse groupings in twos and threes, as if searching for the high-hat's proper niche in the maturing groove. The design of Towner's asymmetric ostinato figure is possibly influenced by Walcott's asymmetric groupings of the pulse stream (hence, the dashed-line arrow). The two players establish a canon at [3:00], the point at which Walcott initiates new patterning on the suspended cymbal. ⁽³⁴⁾Even though the canonic relationship perpetuates tension on the rhythmic surface, the regularity of the ostinato cycle (6 + 6 quarter-note units) ultimately stabilizes the passage at a higher hypermetric level. This larger-level stability in turn promotes and accompanies new developments on the tin whistle and double bass timelines.

Interaction Between Walcott and Moore

Interactivity between bassist Moore and Walcott at the beginning of section C recapitulates in microcosm the processive negotiation of metric stability achieved by Walcott and Towner in section A. As shown on Example 5, a formative growth process guides the formation of a new metric groove: composite patterning moves from a condition of irregularity and instability toward one more regular and stable, which in turn promotes new development.

Example 4: "Taos" Section B: Negotiation of Canonic Interaction Between Guitar and Percussion [2:53 - 3:15]

Example 5: "Taos", Section C: Formative Growth Process in the Interaction of Tongue Drum and Double Bass Activity [4:00 - 4:25]

For example, it takes a few seconds for Walcott to find the appropriate niche for his tongue drum patterning, but by [4:10] he settles into a stable ostinato that in turn supports Moore's introduction of new rhythmic patterning in measures 181, 186, and 190.

Example 5 also shows how Moore adopts strategies used previously by Walcott, including such techniques as altering features of repetitive figures. For example, by varying the number of iterations of the opening A³ in motive c2', Moore avoids ostinato regularity and remains in the textural foreground. Recall that in section A Walcott used this strategy to achieve a similar result.

Hypermetric Organization

Creating normative, predictable lengths at hypermetric levels is an organizational procedure that helps Oregon project structural events across broad spans of time. This strategy is made possible by the establishment of metric stability and downbeat periodicity, which fosters thinking at broader levels of architecture. Example 6 displays an example of how the application of this strategy helps the players achieve two important goals during the development of "Taos": (1) stabilizing the collective sense of meter for a relatively long time, which promotes intensifying activity in section B, and (2) forecasting and bringing into collective focus the starting point of section C.

The passage shown in Example 6 documents Moore's strategic decision to clarify collective downbeat orientation and metric grouping length on the rhythmic surface (level 1) by reinforcing tonic. Repetition of a leading tone to tonic motive between [3:15--:25] marks out an eight-measure phrase unit, a grouping structure that Moore maintains for the remainder of the section. Level 2 translates this grouping structure as an eight-beat hypermeasure. It is the creation and subsequent expectation of this normative hypermetric length that makes possible (1) the unified design of double bass activity through this timespan, (2) the emergence of small and mid-level formative growth processes, (3) the forecasting of locations of structural accent, and (4) the organized textural convergence that occurs as the passage develops.

The formative growth process is clearly evident within the first two phrases, generating local-level progressive motion that coordinates with other intensifying activity.

Within phrase a, Moore's syncopated placement of the interior 7-1 (G²-A²) figures creates a subtle amount of tension that helps propel the phrase forward. At the beginning of phrase b, the syncopated upper-register motion briefly reorganizes the eighth-note surface into an implied compound meter (shown in level 2). This patterning, possibly inspired by preceding hand drum patterning (see the arrow with dashed lines flowing from timepoint [3:25], counterpoints Walcott's activity at the hypermetric level (organized as eight beats of simple division), while simultaneously complementing it at the pulsatile surface. The effect produces yet more tension that compounds the prevailing intensification.

The formative growth process operating within each of these phrases is reflected at a broader level over the entire passage as well, as shown on Example 6 by the boldface symbols above each phrase slur. Within phrase a', all four tonic arrivals (the 7-1 motive) occur on downbeats, strengthening the sense of regularity across all metric levels. (This is also the point of maximum textural cohesion and structural intensity in section B). Walcott articulates this regularity by reinforcing Moore's 7-1 figure with simultaneous crashes on the suspended cymbal. ⁽³⁵⁾ Thus, a broader formative progression emerges, from the appearance of new activity (phrase a) through transitional instability caused by polymetric interaction (phrase b) to a passage of maximum stability (phrase a'). The plateau of stability attained in phrase a' ultimately promotes the culminating events that characterize phrase b': dynamic zenith, rhythmic augmentation, momentary suppression of metered groove (stop-time), and the discharge of climactic, structural energy.

Example 6: "Taos", Section B Hypermetric Organization Within Timespan [3:05 - 4:00]. Downbeat clarification begins at [3:16].

The rhythmic design of this passage becomes more cohesive and clearer to the players as it develops, a process that impacts structuring and intensification in other parameters. The combined effect of double bass and percussion activity through this timespan strongly focuses collective orientation on regularly recurring hypermetric downbeats, a condition that fosters higher levels of pitch organization. For example, in spite of the metric dissolution within phrase b', the recurrence of Moore's stepwise ascent and descent 2-3-4-3-2 implies resolution back to a future 1, paralleling a similar gesture at the juncture between phrases b and a'. Thus, Moore's broad stepwise motion in this passage helps forecast and bring into focus the large-level downbeat represented by the beginning of section C, a downbeat that simultaneously closes the linear descent to tonic and initiates a new section in the piece's development.

Meter and Structural Motion

The creation of metric coherence allows the members of Oregon to shape structural motion along lines of graduated degrees of intensity according to (1) synchronous or asynchronous relationships with prevailing meter and (2) fluctuations between stable and unstable metric conditions. The flow of metric coherence between variable degrees of stability is inextricably connected to the improvisation's architectural design and the feel of formal rhythm in terms of progression and recession. Two components come into play in the shaping of this flow: types of activity (in different degrees of stability) and rate of change through time from one degree state to another. Table 4 lists the types of rhythmic activity that typify different degrees of metric stability.

At any degree level (0.0 to -4.0), long passages of stasis (unchanging conditions) create a relative amount of contextual stability. Passages involving transition from one degree state to another create fluctuation, unpredictability, and uncertainty, all of which produce instability, and thus progressive structural motion. Hence, over a given timespan, the length of a static passage in relation to one of transition translates as an indication of metric stability. In general, quicker rates or greater instances of degree change convey more instability than relatively slower rates or fewer instances of change. Figure 2 summarizes this continuum of rate change.

Figure 2: Metric Stability: Continuum of Rate Change

Figures 3 and 4 graph the fluctuation of metric stability and interplay of metric features throughout "Taos." On the figures, the horizontal dimension equates with the passage of time, and the vertical dimension equates with degrees of metric stability (see Table 4).

Degree of Stability^(36)	Typifying Activity
0.0	periodic patterning; little or no syncopation; beat groupings are clearly projected
-1.0	significant^(37) amount of syncopation present; pauses or silence of significant length
-2.0	patterning that neutralizes the sense of prevailiing meter including reiteration^(38)
-3.0	juxtaposed periodic patterning that conters the sense of prevailing meter and suggests another (polymeter)^(39)
-4.0	patterning that is essentially ametric^(40) a. Steady ametric patterning (repetitive, static, sustained) that projects a slight degree of stability due to its unchangin nature. b. Varied amteric patterning - metriccaly, the most unstable type of activity

Table 4: Degrees of Metric Stability and Typifying Rhythmic Activity

The center line represents the point of greatest metric stability (0.0 degree). Individual timelines are situated hierarchically around this point according to the following criteria:

1.The primary contributor to metric coherence appears directly underneath the centerline, suggesting

its role as the "bedrock" foundation of the groove/meter.

2.The primary complement, second in importance to the primary contributor, appears directly

above the centerline.

3. Timelines of secondary influence appear farthest away from the centerline, both above and below.

Figure 3: Taos, Sections A and B, Fluctuation of Metric Stability

Figure 4: Taos, Section C, Fluctuation of Metric Stability. As compared with Figure 3, note the change in position with respect to the centreline

between Towner (RT) on guitar/synthesizer and Moore (GM) on double bass.

In sections A and B (Figure 3), Walcott and Towner are the primary creators of meter, with Walcott's activity paramount (note that disruptive motives x1-2 are included where appropriate). In section C (Figure 4), Moore's activity replaces that of Towner as the primary complement.

Vertical movement on the graphs indicates the amount of pull toward or away from the center of prevailing metric stability created by a player's activity. Hence, motion towards the centerline (e.g., +1.0) indicates an increase in relative stability, and vice versa. A transitional state between each degree is suggested by decimal amounts. For example, a stability degree of (-1.5) suggests a mixture of syncopated and reiterative patterning. Organized in this manner, the figures easily assess how the interaction of timelines affects the feel of the groove on the music's surface (in terms of metric qualities) as well as the broader formal rhythm.

The effects of two processes important to the structuring of "Taos" are clearly evident in Figure 3: (1) dialogue-like interaction between Walcott and Towner, which produces a dynamic fluctuation of metric stability in section A, and (2) textural accumulation, which fosters metric transformation and structural intensification in section B. In general Walcott and Towner shadow each other in moving toward and away from maximum stability, which results in an approximate mirror image around the centerline up to roughly [1:30]. Fluctuating between different degree states in such a coordinated manner produces a wave-like flow of metric stability through this passage.

This entire passage is also an excellent example of Walcott's skill in overcoming the expressive constrictions imposed by the tongue drum's pitch and dynamic limitations. By manipulating conditions of metric stability, he plays a fundamental role in generating progressive motion and increasing intensification up to the start of section B.

The process of metric transformation from a condition of dynamic fluctuation to one of stability is inextricably linked with the process of textural accumulation. Considering Oregon 's oeuvre of recorded free pieces, in general collective metric stability increases as more players enter into the texture. As shown in Figure 3 this phenomenon is manifested during section B in two ways on individual timelines: movement toward a degree state of (0.0) and long passages of stasis. ⁽⁴¹⁾ Maximum stability prevails during the final forty-five seconds of the section during which climactic intensification occurs in other parameters. This passage is a good example of Oregon using stability in one parameter to support dynamic activity in another parameter. In this case, metric coherence promotes intensifying processes in other areas such as timbral change, linear motion, and textural convergence.

Figure 4 clearly shows how the players coordinate their approach to dissolving metric stability in section C and fashioning an end to the improvisation. Each player in turn moves from a condition of (near) maximum stability to the most unstable condition possible (-4.0, or null-varied) within a short amount of time. Sharing this strategy projects an overall unity to collective rhythmic design. In addition, Walcott and Moore coordinate their activity in significant ways, providing additional elements of unity. For example, at the beginning of the section, they negotiate a complementary relationship, with Walcott's long, stable ostinato patterning functioning as a ground to Moore's dramatic and widely fluctuating activity. Within timespan [5:42--:52], their near-simultaneous movement to a null-static condition (-3.5) creates a relative amount of stability that helps support prevailing closural patterning.

The unified, collective metric transformation achieved in section C is an inversion of that created in section B. At the broadest level of architecture the formative growth process guiding the rhythmic flow from section A to B is reciprocated in section C. Here at the piece's end, gradual dissolution and abatement inversely mirrors the process of collective movement toward maximum stability that underlies climactic intensification into [4:00]. Aspects of pitch logic support this design as well: section A is the most active harmonically (due primarily to Walcott's activity) while section B is the most static and stable. Cohesion essentially unravels in section C as the players disengage into discrete layers of rhythmic motion, pitch foci, motivic activity, and harmonic motion.

Conclusion

A high degree of coordination within and among different parameters characterizes "Taos." Oregon 's negotiation of metric coherence and the maintenance of a lengthy, stable groove strongly affects structural design on all levels in the piece. The various processes that create structure in "Taos" realize to a great extent Oregon 's goal of avoiding four separate streams of activity in favor of individual improvisation woven into a coherent whole. The players achieve a unity of formal design unlike any found in the other improvisations on this 1983 recording. Intensities of motion work together at all levels as "Taos" develops. The emotional effects projected by structural designs reinforce each other to a high degree, amplifying the overall feeling of powerful, coherent goal-directed motion. From start to finish, the result is a clear design of coordinated climactic growth followed by resolution and abatement. Such high levels of formal clarity and collective unity are remarkable given the length of the piece.

As recently as 1985 Luciano Berio remarked that improvisation lacked the capacity for "coherent discourse that unfolds and develops simultaneously on different levels," abilities that were possible only in composed music. ⁽⁴²⁾ In this statement Berio reiterates an attitude endemic to twentieth-century classical music culture that improvisation is inferior to composition in terms of quality and sophistication. A wealth of recent analyses of jazz improvisation directly challenges this perspective. Also, a current line of reasoning emphasizes that improvisation is equal to yet distinct from composition. As compared to the traditional composition process, improvisation (1) fosters different modes of thinking, expression, and interaction, (2) demands a different type of skilled performance in structural problem solving, and (3) offers a unique transcendent or heightened state of consciousness. ⁽⁴³⁾

In the mid-1970s, after attending an Oregon performance and hearing them create one of their exciting free pieces, Aaron Copland remarked to the group that "Berio and the boys have been trying to write this stuff down for years." ⁽⁴⁴⁾ Hopefully, this study has helped document that which Copland heard so clearly over twenty years ago and what audiences continue to hear today: the skill of a virtuosic ensemble well versed in the art of free improvisation. The exceptional nature of Oregon 's improvisatory skill involves not only their ability to create sophisticated pieces of great interest and variety, but also their ability to create in real time consistently well-balanced, multi-dimensional structures that unfold with a subtle yet unmistakable cohesiveness. Perhaps most truly exceptional is the fact that to the members of Oregon , this is a normal way of making music.

References

Berio, Luciano. Two Interviews, translated and edited by David Osmond-Smith. New York: Marion Boyars, 1985.

Davis, Michael. "Improvising with sequencers--the electronic keyboard side of acoustic guitarist Ralph Towner." Keyboard (September, 1985): 16.

Diliberto, John. Review of the recording "Crossing." Downbeat 52 (December, 1985):28-29.

Drury, Roger. "Oregon: The further adventures of the world fusion pioneers." Jazziz 10/5 (August/September, 1993): 49-51.

Drury, Roger. "Oregon: whole again, their discovery continues." Jazziz 6/4 (June/July 1989): 48, 81.

Hinely, Patrick. Introductory notes to the recording Always, Never, and Forever (veraBra records, vBr 2073-2, 1991; released in the U.S. on Intuition, INT 2073-2, 1992).

Lyons, Len. The 101 Best Jazz Albums: A History of Jazz on Records. New York: William Morrow, 1980.

New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Vols. 1 and 2. Barry Kernfeld, editor, 1988.

Oregon. ECM-CD 1258, recorded February, 1983.

Pressing, Jeff. "Cognitive processes in improvisation." Cognitive Processes in the Perception of Art. W. Ray Crozier and Antony J. Chapman, eds. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1984, 345-63.

Sarath, Ed. "A New Look at Improvisation." Journal of Music Theory 40/1 (Spring,1996), 1-38.

Schaefer, John. New Sounds: A Listener's Guide to New Music. New York: Harper and Row, 1987.

Werner, Hans U. "Oregon: Acoustic State of Music--Eine dokumentarish-analytische Annaherung." Jazzforschung/Jazz Research 18 (1986): 87-121.

White, John W. Processes of Structuring in Selected Free Improvisations of the Chamber Ensemble "Oregon ". Ph.D. Dissertation, Indiana University, 1999.

1. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, s.v. "Towner, Ralph."

2. Patrick Hinely, introductory notes to the recording Always, Never, and Forever, veraBra records, vBr 2073-2, 1991 (released in the U.S. on Intuition, INT 2073-2, 1992), and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, s.v. "Moore, Glen."

3. Hans U. Werner, "Oregon: Acoustic State of Music--Eine dokumentarish-analytische Annaherung," Jazzforschung 18 (1986): 91.

4. Hinely, introductory notes, and The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, s.v. "Walcott, Collin."

5. Ibid.

6. Quotation taken from program notes (author unknown) for a concert given by Oregon at the Goodrich Theater, State University College-Oneonta, Oneonta, New York, October 4, 1991.

7. Len Lyons, The 101 Best Jazz Albums: A History of Jazz on Records (New York: William Morrow, 1980), 418.

8. John Schaefer, New Sounds: A Listener's Guide to New Music (New York: Harper and Row, 1987), 121.

9. Roger Drury, "OREGON: whole again, their discovery continues," Jazziz 6/4 (June/July 1989): 48.

10. John Diliberto, review of the recording Crossing, Downbeat 52 (December, 1985): 28-29.

11. Roger Drury, "OREGON: The further adventures of the world fusion pioneers," Jazziz 10/5 (August/September, 1993): 51.

12. Michael Davis, "Improvising with sequencers - the electronic keyboard side of acoustic guitarist Ralph Towner," Keyboard (September, 1985): 16.

13. Drury, "OREGON: The further adventures of the world fusion pioneers," 51.

14. Lyons, 418.

15. Hinely, introductory notes.

16. From a personal conversation with Glen Moore on August 16, 1994.

17. Ibid.

18. Ibid.

19. From numerous conversations with Paul McCandless, Ralph Towner, and Glen Moore, 1991 to 1994.

20. Quotation taken from Werner, 93.

21. ECM-CD 1258, recorded February, 1983.

22. From a personal conversation with Paul McCandless on October 3, 1994.

23. From a personal conversation with Moore on August 16, 1994.

24. For example, during the improvisation titled "Free Piece" on the 1981 album Oregon in Performance, Towner plays in succession guitar, ocarina, piano, French horn, and finally piano.

25. Drury, "OREGON: Whole again, their discovery continues," 48.

26. See John W. White, Processes of Structuring in Selected Free Improvisations of the Chamber Ensemble "Oregon" (Ph.D. Dissertation, Indiana University, 1999).

27. The term "tongue drum" is a common, generic synonym for slit drum. Slit drums, of which many different types exist throughout the world's diverse cultures, are not true membranophones, but rather idiophones made of hollowed-out wooden vessels (logs, tubes, boxes, blocks, etc.). Two or more tongues are created by cutting perpendicular slits into one side of the drum. The tongues are carved to different thicknesses, thus producing different pitches when struck with a mallet. The pitch orientation of Walcott's tongue drum, limited to a parent scale of Amajor minus G natural (i.e., G is not found on this particular instrument), plays a primary role in determining the initial tonal design of "Taos."

28. From a personal conversation with Paul McCandless on October 3, 1994.

29. Note that in this study these terms are being used to refer to textural relationships (density) and not to pitch-level relationship (reductive or structural).

30. In this and subsequent examples, all citations of measure numbers refer to my detailed transcription of this improvisation. Although one can argue that the use of measure numbers is superfluous (and, perhaps, arbitrary) if clock timings are also used in this analysis, their use does provide useful descriptive convenience. As for the logic of determining the placement of barlines in the transcription, see the next footnote. This and other transcriptions of Oregon free improvisations appear as "Appendix 2: Transcriptions" and are bound separately as Volume II of John W. White, Processes of Structuring in Selected Free Improvisations of the Chamber Ensemble "Oregon" (Ph.D. Dissertation, Indiana University, 1999).

31. On the complete transcription, this precipitative "transitional stage" toward metric stability {0:49--0:59} is suggested by appropriate meter signatures enclosed within parentheses (along with concomitant barline grouping). Prior to this passage, barlines used to parse activity reflect a general matrix suggesting quadruple meter (based upon predominant patterning in Walcott's activity) but also denote a variety of grouping lengths created by differently patterned material or entrances after significant silences.

32. Since a number of grouping interpretations are possible in this passage, a decision was made in the transcription process to maintain a prevailing "visual" 4/4 meter and to show Walcott's syncopated grouping with across-the-bar beaming, short slur marks, and accents.

33. Generally speaking, this defines the overall shaping of any free improvisation if one considers the final product to be the stability toward which the improvising moves. In "Taos," however, the process is especially more localized and audible, essentially guiding the coordination of activity on all levels of structure. Hence, it is a procedure particularly fundamental to the structuring of this improvisation.

34. To be precise, slight variations occur at two locations within the canonic cycle. As can be seen in Example 4, (1) at the end of m. 129 (approximately {3:00}), Walcott adds an eighth note during the "beat" of three (triangle) where Towner does not, and (2) at the end of m. 134 (approximately {3:07}), Walcott keeps silent during the "beat" of three where Towner does not. Thereafter, the canon remains strict until it dissipates entirely.

35. Indeed, Walcott may have even helped create this regularity with his repeating 8-beat hand drum figure in phrase b.

36. Decreasing stability (distance away from the most stable condition) is indicated with a negative value. Hence, movement toward maximum stability can logically be expressed in positive values (e.g., a movement from -3 to -1 as +2), and vice versa.

37. Patterning that can be perceived as syncopated against a more stable ground (0.0); the syncopation is not strong enough to neutralize or disrupt the underlying meter that prevails.

38. Non-stressed reiteration of at most one or two pitches creating a pulse stream that is accentually undifferentiated.

39. The L'Histoire du Soldat model; even though this type of patterning may be metrically stable in and of itself, in conext it is highly disruptive to the sense of meter that has prevailed up to this point.

40. Activity with a definite rhythmic shape that, within the prevailing context, suggests no perceivable metric organization.

41. Even though the nature of Towner's asymmetric ostinato figure starting at {2:57} is by itself a degree value of (-3.0), its lengthy stasis fits in with surrounding stable activity. Hence, it is contextually redefined as a stabilizing element.

42. Luciano Berio, Two Interviews (New York: Marion Boyars, 1985), 81.

43. For example, see Jeff Pressing, "Cognitive Processes in Improvisation," in Cognitive Processes in the Perception of Art, W. Ray Crozier and Antony J. Chapman, eds. (Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1984), 345-63, and Ed Sarath, "A New Look at Improvisation," in Journal of Music Theory 40/1 (Spring, 1996), 1-38.

44. From a personal conversation with Glen Moore on August 16, 1994.