Do improvisers intend?

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 execution 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 mindlessness. This seemingly paradoxical requirement warrants a distinction between ‘mindful’ 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 important ideal to several of them.