leave a little room for improvisation
November 2009
Last year I attended a superb presentation by Cirque
du Soleil's Richard Oberacker, in which he encouraged
people to leave room in their presentations for
improvisation.
I was reminded of Richard's advice last night whilst watching Ray. It turns out that Ray Charles' most famous song, What'd I Say, was conceived at a gig in 1958. Charles, his orchestra and his backing singers had finished their routine. But they were contractually obliged to continue playing for another 12 minutes.
The sound they created to fill those minutes subsequently became Ray Charles' first gold record. What'd I Say is credited for inspiring many musicians, including Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Van Morrison. 45 years after its release, the song was ranked at number 10 in Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 greatest records of all time.
What could you create, influence or change with a few minutes of improvisation in your world?
I was reminded of Richard's advice last night whilst watching Ray. It turns out that Ray Charles' most famous song, What'd I Say, was conceived at a gig in 1958. Charles, his orchestra and his backing singers had finished their routine. But they were contractually obliged to continue playing for another 12 minutes.
The sound they created to fill those minutes subsequently became Ray Charles' first gold record. What'd I Say is credited for inspiring many musicians, including Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Van Morrison. 45 years after its release, the song was ranked at number 10 in Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 greatest records of all time.
What could you create, influence or change with a few minutes of improvisation in your world?