ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies conventions and constraints which operate in the functioning of a professional jazz group which refer to as RJ tand his Jazzmen. It considers the ways in which the production of musical sound, personal expectations of musicians, and the demands of the venue critically shape the eventual musical performance. It seems clear that conventions and constraints create systems of interrelationships which control artists as individuals and in groups. It does seem reasonably clear on one level that there are certain dimensions of convention which have specific location vis-a-vis the production of musical sound, as well as those conventions that have to do with personal feelings and expectations in a professional relationship. Non-musical factors such as the latter can have as much to do with the final production of musical sounds as can the actual physical act of playing together.
