Improvising with words: a drummer’s perspective on the integration of recorded speech with jazz performance – a portfolio of recorded performances and exegesis

Abstract

The project uses prerecorded speech as a theme in a jazz context and demonstrates through performance: 1) the musical potential of the qualities of speech; that is the sound of speech, and the meanings it carries and moods it conveys, 2) the ways in which speech can be used either directly, or as a source of inspiration in improvisation, and 3) how playing with speech patterns has impacted my drumming. The first recital centres on the performance of pieces that are structured around excerpts of recorded speech. These pieces aim to show how recorded speech can inspire free improvisation. The second recital demonstrates how the study of speech patterns has effected my drumming in a contemporary jazz setting. The outcomes of the recitals are discussed in selected case studies in this accompanying exegesis. The overarching aim is to incorporate speech and speech patterns into my playing in order to achieve a method of phrasing that is not restricted by time signature, subdivisions or conventional jazz rhythms.