The mass culture virtuoso is an improviser in a compulsory situation

Evidence

If the piano virtuoso still recalled the acrobat or the juggler, who would only appear for money after the most arduous preparation, the jazz musician without entirely relinquishing these models comes more and more to resemble the goalkeeper. The virtues required of him are undistractability, attention, preparedness and concentration. He becomes an improviser in a compulsory situation. The illusionlessness of his performance is turned into that sporting facility which consists in being unsettled by nothing. Nothing is more frowned upon than rubato. Under monopoly conditions the heir to the virtuoso is he who accommodates himself most efficiently to the team. In so far as he does stand out personally in any way, this is regulated by the function which he performs in the team, in the ideal case by effacing himself, leaping to save a goal and thus serving the collective. — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry, 128

Categorization

• DEFINE: The goalkeeper image defines pseudo-individuation at the level of performance: ‘improviser in a compulsory situation’ — directly relevant to the reader’s core concept toolkit.
• XREF: Connects to any analysis of modern improv-based media (stand-up, jazz, live streaming) where spontaneity is actually stage-managed. — connects to: Human improvisation is regulated by historically situated conditions — David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity: An…, 2147