bad ideas

this ain't it

Submitted by jacob on Fri, 01/15/2010 - 16:25

I will not be performing the score THIS IS IT any more. Don't be fooled by my calendar, which refers to all improvising gigs (well, there are only three left) as THIS IS IT. I am sick of the piece and have a feeling it is somewhere between condescending and outright stupid. It is something I feel funny/uncomfortable asking improvisers I know and respect to play, and therefore it is something I should not ask anyone to play. I don't agree with it anymore, I don't think, and I would like to be free to improvise with whomever without the specter of this piece looming above our heads. I think it generally ends up invalidating or trivializing its own performance, which is not something I want to be doing, at least not anymore. I really like improvising, and I think the way that group improvisation instantly creates community is really exciting - in fact, it is this very thing that I like about music. I don't care about virtuosity, I care about community. I don't want to trivialize it. Even if I am being overly negative and the piece does have some validity or positive value, John Baldessari does it better: