Improvisation in Portugal: Researching the improvisation scene in Portugal

While based at the Nova University in Lisbon on a Santander Mobility Scholarship, I continued previous ethnographic research, done in 2014 in Brazil (https://improvisationinbrazil.wordpress.com), carrying out an ethnography of the Portuguese music improvisation scene.
The study allowed me to interview over 50 musicians, record companies, music critiques, and venue organisers and I have produced an online portfolio with edited interviews. In this way I have been able to trace the story and influences of music improvisation practices in Portugal.

The research period also enabled me to perform with several Portuguese musicians, allowing an even deeper insight into current music practices.

The research continues my larger aim of building a strong and sustainable international network that researches the topic of improvisation in terms of practice, within a musicological approach and in terms of the wider social and cultural influences of improvisation in areas other than music.