Skeletal
Sunday, August 30th, 2009In response to Simba and Tangocommunter’s recent posts.
I’ve encountered among contemporary artists an almost consistent fear of structure. “Oh it’s so restrictive” they moan. To me this exposes their misunderstanding of the structures in question. They view structure as a shell that inhibits and restricts their growth, an exoskeketon.
It doesn’t have to be. Structure can be endoskeletal. Supporting you from the inside and affording both flexibility and stability. Well devised structures can include a redundancy that allow you to slip out the odd prop or two when they are not needed. Structure is the giants shoulders that allow us to reach further.
It’s the inability to view structure in this way that prevents musicians from exploring danceable tango. Add to this the restriction that comes from playing in groups that are too small. You’re not going to get the same opportunity to improvise in a trio than you are in a sextet. You are going to be spending too much time being support for your other two musicians to get the feel for improvisation. Now in a group of six if one member wanders off a little it’s less likely to bring the whole thing crashing down.
If you listen closely to some golden age tango recordings you will hear not a group of straight-jacketed musicians but six or so lads that drink, play cards, womanise and perform all night long. What is missing at times from modern recordings is that sense of the camaraderie of working musicians instead of the seriousness of suffering artists.
And finally of course you’re not going to get the same experience playing tango as you are playing jazz because, guess what, it’s not jazz.


