ABSTRACT
What qualifies as expertise in performance? Does expertise have the capacity to consistently excel at a task. We assert that excellence is recognised superior performance. While that seems perfectly adequate in terms of an observational definition, we further develop this notion from an internal, performer-centred perspective. As a starting point we posit that one of the principal defining characteristics of expertise in free jazz refers to being able to play at the level where the performer can produce the music that she set out to produce. We also discuss the value of experience and propose that expertise comes from an incremental increase in knowledge, aesthetics and experience. Further, the musical development of a musician is affected by the various environments in which they operate, including the musical environments where they can interact with others and develop an understanding of how ego affects the finding of their own voice. We argue that ego is the systemic development and organisation of the musical self, and we consider it, along with agency, to be a primary driver of improvisation and free jazz.
