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In this presentation, I present an overview of the issues in investigating the field of free improvisation. Which are the existing sources, how relevant they are, and how to deal with meta-data, not only taking into account the content of the litterature but also its geographical origins. I present the hypothesis of the triple bi-parentage of the free improvisation : - Geographic (Europe and America) - Stylistic (Jazz and contemporary avant-garde) - Ethnic (Black and White)

Rythmical arrangement in 7/8 and 7/16 of the prelude and fugue in C minor, Well-tempered clavier, BWV 847

The Basel Musik Akademie and the Conservatoire National de Paris are two institutions where free improvisation is taught at a high level. The two schools - as well as the cities where they are located - played important rules in the field of avant-garde music, with with renowned and sometimes controversial professors who have taught there. With the help of interviews with the founders of the two classes, this paper retraces the stages of the entry of free improvisation into the academic world. It also describes the cohabitation with improvisation classes in idiomatic styles, such as keyboard improvisation, which has a history of more than two centuries in Paris. Finally, this paper also discusses the reciprocal relationship between free improvisation and contemporary music.