“Dixiland” by Domingos Vilaça. The first commercial jazz record recorded by Portuguese musicians

Abstract

Released in 1957, the EP “Dixiland” (sic) by Domingos Vilaça Group, is, at the current state of musicological research,
the first commercial jazz recording by Portuguese musicians. This paper aims to clarify the context in which the recording
took place, how the sheet music used in the recording influenced Vilaça’s solos and also to identify the creative strategies
and musical processes which constituted the clarinetist’s musical vocabulary as a jazz soloist while trying to understand
the musical and creative approach of a classically trained musician to the unprecedented task of recording a commercial
jazz record in Portugal. The creative strategies and musical devices uncovered by this analysis may be used as important
tools for jazz and improvisation teaching and learning.