The Museum, the Laboratory, the Nightclub, the Embassy: Public Universities and the Future of Jazz

Abstract

This paper presents a framework for understanding the important role of public universities in the future of jazz. Jazz education has become a common feature of music departments across the US, and although jazz education is a frequent target of critique by musicians and scholars—including the central tension between academic and applied learning—its crucial contributions to the future of jazz must be acknowledged and supported. Public universities are museums, laboratories, venues, and embassies for jazz. This paper explains each construct and offers recommendations and examples illustrating how the jazz community and stakeholders can support public universities in each role.