John Corbett's "A Listener’s Guide to Free Improvisation"

"Corbett recounts that festival in the introduction to his succinct, 172-page volume, but shies away from advising readers to search out an analogous musical buffet as their own introduction to the music. It would be hard to come by in today’s environment, for one thing, but it’s also not fully necessary as an entry point. Instead, he offers several useful tips for attentive listening that might help novices cope with the shock of the new, or even give experienced fans some fresh perspectives.

He begins with rhythm—or, more accurately, the lack thereof. The absence of a steady beat can be a deal breaker for listeners raised on a diet of 4/4 backbeats, but Corbett writes eloquently to encourage those with adventurous ears to relax and let go of such expectations. He then offers ways to chart the course of a piece of improvised music, making note of entrances and exits, interactions among players, dynamics and transitions, and finally widening the lens to look at overarching structure.

About midway through his book, Corbett goes into more advanced techniques for the listener, with tips for recognizing the personal vocabularies of individual players, lists of essential records and improvisors to check out, a meditation on the complex performer/audience dynamic, and much more."

http://jazztimes.com/articles/172399-john-corbett-s-a-listener-s-guide-to-free-improvisation