Hi Barry,
The great majority of us Are taught To start with arpeggios To learn how to improvise. We are told That using arpeggios Will make our solos Song more "harmonic specific" and sound like we are playing the changes.........Obviously because chord tones Directly outline The chord we are playing over. We are given exercises and arpeggio etudes To jazz standards etc etc etc.
I think it would be great to hear your thoughts On this And maybe do a lesson on using arpeggios In a solo By themselves And in conjunction with scales.
I played arpeggios for fretboard knowledge but I never applied it to improvising. I did the same exact thing when it cm to scales. I must have practiced scale patterns for 100's of hours but they never are in my soloing. For me technique was completely separate from the creative part of being a musician. I found it incredibly frustrating to apply scales and arpeggios into a solo just because it's supposed to sound right. It doesn't. Just look at a solo by Charlie Parker or George Benson. Better yet learn the solo yourself. Yes, you will see scales and arpeggios but they use them in a musical fashion and in a organic creative way. Hope that helps.
Barry