Sven Bjerstedt

Questions about the existence and temporality of intention in jazz improvisation are investigated based on phenomenological interviews with 48 expert jazz improvisers: Do improvisers intend that which they will play, and, if so, are their conception and execution of a musical idea coincident, or are they separated in time? The findings on improvisatory cognition are summarized and discussed by means of perspectives of phenomenology and 4E cognition. The collected first-hand perspectives indicate that in so far as the improviser is mentally aware of musical ideas, the conception and exe- cution of these ideas are separated in time. Further, while several statements point out that a multi-directional awareness (e.g., internal and external hearing) is required by the improviser, this is perceived to be connected to, or even dependent on, a form of mind- lessness. This seemingly paradoxical requirement warrants a distinction between ‘mind- ful’ and ‘mindless’ (embodied) awareness. Based on the phenomenological interviews, it is suggested that improvisational activity is characterized by a continuous oscillation of agency between ‘mindful’ intentions and ‘mindless’ impulses. While the expert jazz improvisers in this study do not seem to consider ‘mindless coping’ to be a completely true description of mastery in their craft, ‘mindless coping’ still emerges as an impor- tant ideal to several of them.