Jazz In Britain Research Articles

Retelling the story of the early BBC through jazz broadcasting 1922 - 1932

ABSTRACT This research demonstrates that jazz programming on the BBC was a major form of output in its first decade, and a vehicle to achieve important institutional objectives. It pushes us to rethink the totalizing narratives of the BBC’s past as well as the great-man discourse used in too many histories. This article engages with existing literature on both the early BBC and the foundations of jazz in Britain, and builds upon extensive primary research into the BBC’s publications, schedules and programme content, interpreted within a framework of political economy and organizational analysis to reveal new insights.

The heritage of slavery in British jazz festivals

ABSTRACT This article explores site-specific heritage questions of the contemporary cultural practice of festivals of jazz – a key transatlantic music form – by bringing together three areas for discussion and development: questions of slavery heritage and legacy; the location, built environment and (touristic) offer of the historic city; and the contemporary British jazz festival, its programme and the senses or silences of (historical) situatedness in the festival package. Other artistic forms, cultural practices and festivals are involved in self-reflexive efforts to confront their own pasts; such are discussed as varying processes of the decolonisation of knowledge and culture. This provides the critical and cultural context for consideration of the jazz festival in the Georgian urban centre. Preliminary analysis of relevant jazz festivals’ programmes, commissions and concerts leads to interrogating the relationship – of silence, of place – between jazz in Britain, historic or heritage locations and venues, and the degree or lack of understanding of the transatlantic slave trade. The heritage centres clearly associated with the slave trade that also have significant (jazz) festivals referred to include Bristol, Cheltenham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Hull, Lancaster, Liverpool, London, and Manchester.

Catherine Tackley, Rhythm & Reaction: The Age of Jazz in Britain

Catherine Tackley, <i>Rhythm &amp; Reaction: The Age of Jazz in Britain</i>

“It Should Always Be a Give-and-Take”

The 1960s and 1970s are regarded by some historians as being particularly creative decades for jazz in Britain, when British jazz developed its own sound that was distinct from that of American jazz. While not denying that this was a creatively fruitful period in British jazz, in this paper I argue that a ‘British sound' in jazz is difficult, perhaps impossible, to define, even though some authors have referred to a sense of ‘Britishness', particularly in the work of certain musicians discussed by Ian Carr in his book Music Outside: Contemporary Jazz in Britain. Some British jazz, performed largely by white (and mostly male) musicians at this time, was influenced during the 1960s by the contribution of immigrant black musicians from South Africa and the Caribbean; at the same time, musicians such as Michael Garrick and John Surman were drawing to some extent on British folk music for inspiration. Referring to examples from the period, I suggest that although much British jazz from 1960 to 1980 was innovative and became less ‘American', development of its styles was affected by many musical, cultural and political factors. To what extent this music sounds ‘British' is debatable, but its influence has led to the pluralism of jazz styles in Britain that continues today.

Music Outside? Innovation and ‘Britishness' in British Jazz 1960-1980

The 1960s and 1970s are regarded by some historians as being particularly creative decades for jazz in Britain, when British jazz developed its own sound that was distinct from that of American jazz. While not denying that this was a creatively fruitful period in British jazz, in this paper I argue that a ‘British sound' in jazz is difficult, perhaps impossible, to define, even though some authors have referred to a sense of ‘Britishness', particularly in the work of certain musicians discussed by Ian Carr in his book Music Outside: Contemporary Jazz in Britain. Some British jazz, performed largely by white (and mostly male) musicians at this time, was influenced during the 1960s by the contribution of immigrant black musicians from South Africa and the Caribbean; at the same time, musicians such as Michael Garrick and John Surman were drawing to some extent on British folk music for inspiration. Referring to examples from the period, I suggest that although much British jazz from 1960 to 1980 was innovative and became less ‘American', development of its styles was affected by many musical, cultural and political factors. To what extent this music sounds ‘British' is debatable, but its influence has led to the pluralism of jazz styles in Britain that continues today.

Post-World War II Jazz in Britain

This article explores the ways in which jazz was presented and mediated through venue in post-World War II London. During this period, jazz was presented in a variety of ways in different venues, on four of which I focus: New Orleans-style jazz commonly performed for the same audiences in Rhythm Clubs and in concert halls (as shown by George Webb’s Dixielanders at the Red Barn public house and the King’s Hall); clubs hosting different styles of jazz on different nights of the week that brought in different audiences (such as the 100 Club on Oxford Street); clubs with a fixed stylistic ideology that changed venue, taking a regular fan base and musicians to different locations (such as Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club); and jazz in theatres (such as the Little Theatre Club and Mike Westbrook’s compositions for performance in the Mermaid Theatre).

Editorial

The long tradition of British writing on jazz extends back (at least) to the foundation of two early periodicals, Melody Maker and Rhythm (in 1926 and 1927 respectively), as well as key texts by R. W. S. Mendl (The Appeal of Jazz, 1927) and Stanley Nelson (All about Jazz, 1934). Early encounters with jazz in a British context also prompted pronouncements from visitors such as Theodore Adorno (whose 1936 essay 'On Jazz' was written when he was resident at Oxford University) and Ernest Ansermet (1959), who sang the praises of Sidney Bechet's performances with the Southern Syncopated Orchestra in London in 1919. More recently, jazz studies has emerged as a strong interdisciplinary academic field in the UK, interacting with the coun- try's vibrant live music scene and informing the growing presence of jazz as a specialism and within broader curricula at conservatoires and universities.As part of this, jazz specifically in a British context has received increased attention from researchers, contributing to an awareness and critical appre- ciation of jazz outside America as a global and transnational genre. Thanks to the pioneering work of David Boulton (1959), Ian Carr (1973), Howard Rye (in particular his painstaking reconstructions of the tours of American musicians published in the now defunct Storyville, but also see his con- tribution to Oliver 1990) and the late Jim Godbolt (1986, 1989), amongst others, a chronology for the history of the genre in Britain has been estab- lished. This has enabled critical work by scholars such as George McKay (2005), Catherine Tackley, nee Parsonage (2005) and Hilary Moore (2007). This area continues to develop, with two recent studies focused on the mid- to late twentieth century-Duncan Heining's Trad Dads, Dirty Bop- pers and Free Fusioneers: British Jazz, 1960-1975 (2012) and Dave Gelly's An Unholy Row: Jazz in Britain and Its Audience, 1945-1960 (2014)-and an ever-expanding list of biographies of key figures. Alongside this litera- ture, significant research projects based in Britain have investigated, on the one hand, race as a key theme which runs throughout this historical narrative ('What Is Black British Jazz?' directed by Jason Toynbee at The Open University) and, on the other, British jazz within a wider European and transnational context ('Rhythm Changes' directed by Tony Whyton at the University of Salford). Two anticipated books-Black British Jazz: Routes, Ownership and Performance by Toynbee et al. (forthcoming 2014) and Black Popular Music in Britain since 1945 by Stratton and Zuberi (forth- coming 2015), which puts jazz into a wider musical context-will pursue the former theme, and a book series on transnational jazz studies (to be pub- lished by Routledge) will advance the latter.This special issue captures some emerging work on the subject of jazz in Britain. To begin, Bob Lawson-Peebles demonstrates the importance of interdisciplinary methodologies to advance our historical understand- ing of the impact of music, analysing the use of jazz, ragtime and related themes in twentieth-century British literature. The other articles in this issue spotlight the work of current and recently graduated doctoral students. Will Studdert's article examines jazz in Britain during World War II, illuminating the impact of the conflict on the development of both musicians and audi- ences. …

Inside British jazz: crossing borders of race, nation and class

Contents: Introduction The early years of jazz in Britain: gendered rhetorics of subversion, liberation and war Ken Colyer and the trad jazz movement: class, authenticity, and the nostalgic imagination Sounds, images, effects: The Joe Harriott Quintet and free jazz of the 1960s 'Dreams of our mother's ebony eyes': 1980s black Britain and the Jazz Warriors' generation Conclusion References Index.

Review of 'The Evolution of Jazz in Britain, 1880-1935' by Catherine Parsonage

Review of 'The Evolution of Jazz in Britain, 1880-1935' by Catherine Parsonage

Jazz in Britain: Export Culture, Import Society

Jazz in Britain: Export Culture, Import Society

Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain (review)

Reviewed by: Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain Robert Rawlins Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain. By George McKay. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2005. [xiv, 357 p. ISBN 0-8223-3573-5. $22.95.] Index, bibliography, illustrations. George McKay has two aims for this book: 1) "to consider African American jazz music as an export culture," (p. ix) and, 2) to explore "the ways the cultures of jazz have been used or understood by musicians, [End Page 101] critics, and enthusiasts, as well as by its enemies, in British social and political realms" (p. x). His primary interest is not in the music itself, but, rather, the nature of the cultural statement that was intended by the music's founders, and the adoption of jazz in Great Britain by those who used it as a vehicle for social activism and political change. The book is driven by McKay's conviction that jazz is a highly political music and his steadfast refusal to view jazz as pure musical practice. "Frankly, I see nothing but worry in the effort to depoliticize the musical scene. My aim ... throughout the book ... is precisely to challenge such an interpretation" (p. 241). And challenge it he does. Circular Breathing is painstakingly well documented with copious references, including a myriad of personal interviews with activists, musicians, and fans. Through this long journey, many fascinating stories and unexpected facts are revealed, while a host of questions, contradictions, and paradoxes are explored. For starters, McKay finds the international nature of jazz problematic in itself. The music is often described in terms of syncretism or a hybrid of African and European elements. Yet, as McKay points out, "syncretism" implies an attempt to reconcile opposing beliefs or practices, with the very real likelihood that the result may fail or be less than perfect. Similarly, "hybrid" carries several negative implications, including the suggestion that the "hybrid" is inferior to the "pure." Here, as elsewhere, McKay finds his way by urging caution as we search for better understanding. "Syncretic, hybrid: if these words are to be used in the context of jazz it should at least be with knowledge of their limitations. Yet they are useful to us" (p. 7). In his quest to understand jazz as an export culture, McKay seeks to "revisit those cultural arenas where such processes of dynamic exchange have historically happened" (p. 7), which for him is "a transatlantic [focus], between North America, the Caribbean, and Western Europe, with a timely dip to Africa at one point" (p. 5). Circular Breathing consists of five chapters, following a lengthy introduction that clarifies the book's intentions. Chapter 1, "New Orleans Jazz, Protest (Aldermaston), and Carnival (Beaulieu)," explores the surprising association between traditional New Orleans style jazz and leftist social activism that took place in Great Britain during the 1950s and 1960s. Although the marriage seems an unlikely one (traditional jazz is usually considered "conservative, retrospective, unimaginative, and worse" [p. 49]), it was at the time a vibrant and effective union. McKay focuses on the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, or CND, emphasizing the significant role played by New Orleans style brass bands at rallies and demonstrations. The photographs included, showing peace signs and placards alongside trumpets and tubas, provide a curious juxtaposition for modern eyes. Interrogating this "odd conjunction," McKay unearths some convincing reasons why traditional jazz filled the bill for the leftists. For one thing it was acoustic, portable, adaptable, and could be played while walking. More important, the music was festive, communal, collective, raw, earthy, and non-elitist. It was easy to listen to, and relatively easy to play. From this perspective, one can understand why folk music ultimately became the music of choice for social activists. Chapter 2, "Whiteness and (British) Jazz," raises a number of issues, all aimed at "exploring how this music contributed to the social and cultural understanding of the shifting terrain of racial identities in Britain" (p. 90). Here, as elsewhere, McKay is interested in the cultural aspect of jazz, not the music itself, even in the face of arguments that the race of the creator may not be discernable in the musical product produced. "For...

Circular breathing: the cultural politics of jazz in Britain

In Circular Breathing, George McKay, a leading chronicler of British countercultures, uncovers the often surprising ways that jazz has accompanied social change during a period of rapid transformation in Great Britain. Examining jazz from the founding of George Webb’s Dixielanders in 1943 through the burgeoning British bebop scene of the early 1950s, the Beaulieu Jazz Festivals of 1956–61, and the improvisational music making of the 1960s and 1970s, McKay reveals the connections of the music, its players, and its subcultures to black and antiracist activism, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, feminism, and the New Left. In the process, he provides the first detailed cultural history of jazz in Britain. McKay explores the music in relation to issues of whiteness, blackness, and masculinity—all against a backdrop of shifting imperial identities, postcolonialism, and the Cold War. He considers objections to the music’s spread by the “anti-jazzers” alongside the ambivalence felt by many leftist musicians about playing an “all-American” musical form. At the same time, McKay highlights the extraordinary cultural mixing that has defined British jazz since the 1950s, as musicians from Britain’s former colonies—particularly from the Caribbean and South Africa—have transformed the genre. Circular Breathing is enriched by McKay’s original interviews with activists, musicians, and fans and by fascinating images, including works by the renowned English jazz photographer Val Wilmer. It is an invaluable look at not only the history of jazz but also the Left and race relations in Great Britain.

Review of 'Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain' by George McKay

Review of 'Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain' by George McKay

A critical reassessment of the reception of early jazz in Britain

The Original Dixieland Jazz Band's visit in 1919–1920 has been well documented as the beginning of jazz in Britain. This article illuminates a more complex evolution of the image and presence of jazz in Britain through consideration of the cultural and musical antecedents of the genre, including minstrel shows and black musical theatre, within the context of musical life in Britain in the late nineteenth to early twentieth centuries. The processes through which this evolution took place are considered with reference to the ways in which jazz was introduced to Britain through imported revue shows and sheet music.It is an extremely significant but often neglected fact that another group of American musicians, Will Marion Cook's Southern Syncopated Orchestra, also came to Britain in 1919. Remarkably, extensive comparisons of the respective performances and reception of the ODJB and the SSO have not been made in the available literature on jazz. Examination of the situation of one white and one black group of American musicians performing contemporaneously in London is extremely informative, as it evidences the continuing influence of the antecedents of jazz and the importance of both groups in shaping perceptions of jazz in Britain.

Black Musical Internationalism in England in the 1920s

In 1920s and 1930s hundreds of thousands of people in Britain danced to music played by black instrumentalists, watched shows with black dancers, were amused by black entertainers at parties and night clubs, purchased sheet music and played melodies created by black composers, and listened to performances by black people on phonograph discs. Stage shows imported from United States played to packed houses in British theaters. The London and provincial press carried advertisements, reviews, comments, photographs, and interviews associated with these shows. British entertainers complained of employment problems because of success of black Americans in Britain. This success enabled others of African descent, born in Britain, Caribbean, or Africa itself, to join American-led bands and shows or to copy them. Yet Jim Godbolt, in his History of Jazz in Britain, wrote that the black contribution to British jazz was slight (Godbolt 1986, 195). One explanation for this comment could be that, at least as far as instrumental music is concerned, dominant source of jazz was phonograph disc. A three-minute, ten-inch, 78 rpm shellac disc enabled listener to hear a performance time and time again and thus to absorb details that were more difficult to appreciate in public performance. Much of study of jazz in Western Europe resulted from careful listening to reissues of discs recorded in and for United States (Collier 1979, 317; HOWARD RYE is an independent British researcher whose numerous articles on American musical visitors to Britain in years 1919-1940 have been published in English jazz research magazine Storyville. He contributed to The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz and was an advisor to BBC radio series Salutations (1993). JEFFREY GREEN is author of a biography on South Carolina-born composer Edmund Thornton Jenkins (Greenwood, 1982). An independent British researcher, he has contributed to Black Perspective in Music, Black Music Research Journal, Storyville, The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, and Musical Times.