Discursive Interculturality is tested as a form of critical analysis used to examine two case studies from my practice: the intercultural concert series Cows at the Beach (Wren, 2011, 2013), and a jazz quartet recording, Rich and Famous (Wren, 2012). In doing so it reveals the way that power is implicated in intercultural exchange through collaboration and performance and reveals the way that musicians play their culture and play beyond their culture in intercultural hybridity. This type of analysis is based on the theories of hybridity and improvisation as developed in previous chapters, to reveal the intersection of cultural archetypes and individual expression within the intercultural hybrid work. I propose the critical framework of Discursive Interculturality as a way of unpacking intercultural exchange through a close analysis of the musical work. The relationship between improvisation and culture necessitates a rethinking of the way that we listen to and analyse the products of interculture. Improvisation is situated as a dynamic process of developing preferences based on cultural acquisition, which enables us to understand the different approaches developed by improvisers and broader cultural differences between musical systems. A new understanding of improvisation is proposed based on an examination of the literature from diverse disciplines including cognitive psychology, complex adaptive systems, embodiment and ethnographic accounts of improvisers. From the analysis of hybridity, improvisation emerges as a key locus for examining the way in which musicians are heard to negotiate self and culture in intercultural hybridity. In the course of analysing the products of interculture, the discussion also examines the inherent problem of hybridity’s reception, given the different cultural frames of reference of different audiences. The dissertation begins with a critical review of the literature on intercultural hybridity that reveals the way that power inequalities have historically characterised many of the exchanges between the West and its Others. The relationship between musicians and cultures is explored through an ethnographic methodology. The process of collaborating with musicians from different traditions raises questions about the ways that musicians draw on their acquired knowledge in the production of intercultural music: How do musicians from different cultures interpret each others’ musical gestures and negotiate a cohesive performance? At play throughout the dissertation are the conflicting notions of individual expression, and culturally derived archetypal models of expression. It springs from my practice as a composer and improvising guitarist, exploring the borders between South Indian Carnatic music and jazz. This research considers musicians from different cultural backgrounds, improvising together, and ‘improvising’ new musical contexts.
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