Acquiring a leisure identity: juvenile jazz bands and the moral universe of ‘healthy’ leisure time

Abstract

The ways in which juvenile jazz bands cater for the leisure time of young girls in a working class neighbourhood of Newcastle upon Tyne are illustrated. In addition to ethnographic material, statements made by the Jazz Band Federation of the UK which indicate the objectives of the organization, as well as its views on the ‘problem of youth’ in modern society are drawn upon. Finally, the data have been analyzed within a framework of historically changing social relationships, and the ways in which the Jazz Band Federation plays a mediating role as the moral gatekeeper of an activity popular with many working class girls are illustrated.