The Jazz Institutes in Graz

Michael Kahr

doi:10.5450/ejm.2017.16.5778

Abstract

In 1965, the Institute for Jazz at the University of Music and Performing Arts (then the Academy of Music) in Graz started to build a reputation as a pioneer in jazz education in Europe. Upon the establishment of a separate Institute for Jazz Research in 1971, the institution was able to position itself as an academic centre with a focus on both artistic practice and the academic study of jazz; as such, it also inspired other jazz programmes across Central Europe. This article discusses the determining factors and socio-cultural conditions for the development of the Jazz Institutes in Graz and analyses aspects of professionalisation, internationalisation and outreach activities both local and international. The leading personalities in the institution's history are introduced, and their activities from 1965 to 1980 are described. After an overview of the Institute's current state, the article discusses internal and external conflicts and criticism of the Institute's activities, artistic orientation and status. Research for this article was compiled as part of the FWF research project ‘Jazz & the City: Identity of a Capital of Jazz', conducted at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz from 2011 to 2013 under Prof. Dr Franz Kerschbaumer

Highlights

Jazz is firmly embedded in the education programmes and, to a lesser extent, the research portfolios of many universities and music conservatories across the world
In 1971 it was divided into two branches, practical and theoretical: the Abteilung für Jazz (Department for Jazz) and the Institut für Jazzforschung (Institute for Jazz Research).[2]
The scholarly literature on jazz in Graz documents the period after the end of World War II that saw the eventual establishment of jazz in academic life, and offers an overview of the local Graz jazz scene up until 1980.3 The present article aims to discuss the development of the academic jazz institutes in Graz during their formative years until the early 1980s

Summary

Introduction

Jazz is firmly embedded in the education programmes and, to a lesser extent, the research portfolios of many universities and music conservatories across the world. Additional information was gathered in extensive interviews with leading participants from the local jazz scene.[6] Much of the information collected reflects the participants’ subjective opinions, which position the Jazz Institutes and their perceived international reputation at the centre of the development of jazz and popular music in Graz This particular self-assessment represents an important aspect of local jazz identity; many jazz musicians in Graz, those who participated actively during the formative years of the Jazz Institutes until the early 1980s, proudly see themselves as contributors to the establishment of jazz as part of local culture and the academic environment, facilitated through exchange and collaboration with international jazz artists and institutions.

Historical context

Development of the Institutes for Jazz and Jazz Research

Criticism and conflict

Conclusion