Improvisational Technique/Influence

While improvisation hadn't been formally introduced in music at the time of Bach, improvisation was a very prominent technique. Bach actually wrote the opening toccata so that it would have many ornaments and pauses, giving it an improvised feel. Additionally, the toccata section also contains several small instances of syncopation. Syncopation was hardly ever used in the Baroque period because it added an unexpected placement of a beat, which some people found to be intolerable due to the unaesthetic nature of the feeling produced. However, it did not stop Bach from incorporating the technique into his toccata. The syncopation in the toccata section makes the work feel randomly generated to the listener because of the lack of a regular beat placement. The addition of all the fermata markings in the toccata also makes the piece feel improvised because they build suspense as the piece builds towards a sustained chord of some sort. The amount of breaks caused by the fermatas make the listener feel as if he's listening a person of great musicianship, but they also create the phrases. Improvisation feel does not feature as prominently in the fugue because the fugue is much more structured than the toccata is.

On the other hand, improvisation plays a key role in "Take the A Train" due to the nature of jazz. Improv has always been one of the cornerstones of good jazz players because it's a chance for one to show their true musicianship. Ironically enough, Duke Ellington's version of "Take the A Train" contains a trumpet solo by Ray Nance which actually became integral to the structure of the piece because Nance played it so well. At the time of Duke Ellington, improvisation was much more possible than it was when Bach was writing music. Bach's exploration of all the major and minor keys set up Charlie Parker to discover that one could use the chromatic scale to move from key to key. The discovery made by Charlie Parker made it possible for jazz musicians to improvise solos in any key. In the context of "Take the A Train", the recording I'm using features Duke Ellington soloing, but Ray Nance does not play his famous trumpet solo. Duke Ellington's composition built on the fundamentals of keys fully explored by Bach, without Bach jazz would probably not exist as it does today.