‘Our Subcultural Shit-Music’: Dutch Jazz, Representation, and Cultural Politics L. Rusch

Summary&

“Our"subcultural"shitHmusic”:"Dutch"Jazz,"Representation,"and"Cultural" Politics" " This"research"is"part"of"the"international"HERAHfunded"Rhythm"Changes"research" project,"which"examines"the"inherited"traditions"and"practices"of"European"jazz"cultures."" This"thesis"examines"how"Dutch"musicians,"policy"makers,"audiences"and"journalists"in" the"1960s"and"1970s"contributed"to"the"development"of"what"became"known"as"a" distinctively"Dutch"sound"in"jazz:"Nederlandse-(aktuele)-geïmproviseerde-muziek."It" critically"engages"with"the"construction"of"Dutch"narratives"in"jazz"and"its"interplay"with" local"political"debates."Through"a"closeHexamination"of"historically"and"geographically" situated"jazz"narratives"and"by"exposing"their"underlying"ideologies,"I"argue"that" musical"change"is"not"only"directed"by"initiatives"within"the"musical"field,"but"shaped"by" broader"sets"of"cultural"discourse."Moreover,"by"engaging"with"the"local"roots"of"Dutch" jazz"and"improvised"music,"I"propose"that"Dutch"jazz"musicians"in"the"1960s"and"1970s" not"only"responded"to,"but"also"actively"contributed"to"processes"of"socioHcultural" upheaval"and"change."Altogether,"I"suggest"a"way"of"viewing"jazz"as"part"of"a"local" (music)"culture"that"is"not"only"informed"by"international"developments"within"the" practice"of"jazz,"but"which"also"interacts"with"the"local"socioHpolitical"infrastructures" and"the"discussions"organized"around"them."By"doing"so,"I"aim"to"reconsider"and"adjust" the"notion"of"Dutch"jazz"in"a"field"of"historiography"that"has"been"dominated"by" anecdotal"writing."In"a"broad"sense,"then,"I"explore"the"unique"relationship"between" meaningHmaking"in"music"and"national"cultural"politics,"investigating"ways"in"which"this" relationship"articulates"cultural"values."" " I"approach"the"notion"of"Dutch"jazz"from"a"variety"of"angles—as"a"community,"a"musical" tradition,"a"cultural"trope"or"narrative"and"as"a"geographical"(political)"space." Consequently,"the"book"is"thematically"subdivided"into"chapters"that"cover"different" fields"in"which"musical"meaningHmaking"takes"place:"community,"education,"policyH making,"representation"and"musical"performance."" "

213" " The"first"section"engages"with"the"development"of"postHwar"jazz"in"the"Netherlands,"as" an"institutionalized"community"of"jazz"professionals."Through"systematic"research"in" periodicals,"close"reading"of"performances"and"by"means"of"oral-history,"I"reveal"the" ideologies"behind"the"emerging"discourses"of"jazz"as"a"subHcultural"art"music"and"the" notion"of"aktuele"geïmproviseerde-muziek"as"a"distinctive"Dutch"sound."Most" contemporary"writing"on"Dutch"jazz"concentrates"on"the"life"and"works"of"avantHgarde" improvising"musicians,"such"as"Misha"Mengelberg,"Han"Bennink,"and"Willem"Breuker," who"sought"news"ways"of"developing"the"jazz"idiom,"most"notably"through"an"eclectic" practice"of"collective"improvisation."As"I"show"in"this"chapter,"however,"the"opposing" views"and"conflicts"between"this"emerging"group"of"AmsterdamHbased"improvising" musicians"and"the"established"group"of"modern"jazz"musicians"deeply"impacted"the" further"development"of"jazz"in"the"Netherlands."Indeed,"jazz"in"the"Netherlands"from"the" late"1960s"began"to"develop"its"own"narrative,"as"told"by"musicians,"audiences," journalists,"producers,"programmers,"and"educators"and"supported"by"venues," magazines,"conservatories"and"other"institutions."In"this"chapter"I"focus"on"the" construction"of"this"narrative"by"examining"the"soHcalled"richtingenstrijd,"or"the"debates" between"members"of"the"Dutch"jazz"community."I"argue"that"these"debates"not"only" shaped"the"further"organization"of"jazz"in"the"Netherlands,"but,"as"a"simplified"view"on" the"past"that"represents"conflicting"ideologies,"continue"to"act"as"a"local"frame"of" reference"through"which"individual"musicians,"bands"and"performances"are"positioned" and"valued." " In"Chapter"Two,"I"further"investigate"how"the"richtingenstrijdHnarrative"and"other"Dutch" debates"shaped"the"further"organization"of"jazz"in"the"Netherlands."I"focus"specifically" on"jazz"education"in"the"Netherlands,"as"an"area"exemplary"for"the"increasingly" professionalized"and"institutionalized"jazz"activities."Through"a"close"examination"of" different"forms"of"musical"education"(jam"sessions,"school"concerts,"workshops,"jazz" programs"as"taught"at"the"conservatories,"I"propose"that"the"rather"segmented" organization"of"jazz"education"in"the"Netherlands"reflected"the"conflicts"and"debates" within"the"Dutch"jazz"community"and"articulated"specific"cultural"values."For"example," while"the"informal"and"flexible"organization"of"workshops"fitted"in"with"ideas"of"jazz"as" a"creative"process"of"renewal"and"change,"the"formal"jazz"programs"taught"at" conservatories"followed"from"notions"of"jazz"as"a"musical"tradition"and"art"as"a"craft"of"

214" " which"the"basics"can"be"taught."Moreover,"with"its"emphasis"on"technical"skills,"tradition" and"craftsmanship,"this"notion"of"jazz"closely"connected"with"the"nineteenthHcentury" musical"traditionalist"views"on"art"as"propagated"by"the"classical"music"programs." Finally,"I"argue"that"a"close"scrutiny"of"the"underlying"ideologies"of"different"forms"of" musical"education"reveals"a"more"complicated"and"nuanced"image"of"stereotypes"in"jazz," such"as"“the"radical"improvising"musician”"and"the"“conservative,"traditionalist"jazz" musician.”" " In"Chapter"Three,"I"examine"the"intertwining"between"cultural"policyHmaking"and"the" performance"of"improvised"music"in"the"Netherlands"and"study"how"improvised" musicians"used"collective"musicHmaking"to"mediate"their"esthetical"and"socioHpolitical" agendas."It"deals"successively"with"the"changing"position"of"the"government"towards"the" arts"as"reflected"by"changes"in"policyHmaking;"the"role"of"improvising"musicians"in"these" debates;"and"the"effects"of"changes"in"cultural"policyHmaking"on"the"further" development"of"jazz"in"the"Netherlands."This"section"gives"special"attention"to"the" worldHrenowned"Dutch"system"of"art"subsidies,"moreover"since"this"system"is"currently" being"jeopardized"by"severe"cuts"in"governmental"funding"and—perhaps"even"more" crucial—the"stigmatization"of"the"arts"as"an,"in"the"words"of"the"populist"politician"Geert" Wilders,"“linkse"hobby”"(leftist"hobby)."The"topic"of"subsidy"for"the"arts"and"culture"in" the"Netherlands"is"more"relevant"than"ever"as"the"Dutch"government"in"2013"and"2014" implemented"a"200"million"euro"cuts"on"funding"of"the"arts,"over"a"fifth"of"the"900" million"euro"annual"budget"of"the"previous"years."The"cuts"have"begun"to"affect"both"the" cultural"infrastructure—for"example"Music"Centrum"the"Netherlands"was"forced"to" close"as"of"January"1,"2013,"festivals"and"venues"receive"increasingly"less"funding."By" studying"the"interrelation"between"political"and"cultural"change,"I"expose"the"cultural" politics"behind"jazz"and"improvised"music"in"the"Netherlands." " In"chapters"Four"and"Five,"I"engage"with"the"role"of"media"representation"in"the" construction"of"Dutch"jazz"narratives,"i.e."the"notion"of"improvised"music"as"a"distinctive" Dutch"sound."I"explore"the"role"of"Dutch"jazz"critics"in"the"development"of"postwar"jazz" in"the"Netherlands,"and"more"specifically,"to"their"role"in"Dutch"jazz’s"shift"away"from" American"models"of"playing"jazz."Who"were"these"mediators"and"promoters"of"jazz"and" what"arguments"did"they"use"to"validate"and"legitimize"their"observations?"How"did"

215" " critics"position"jazz"against"the"backdrop"of"the"fragmentation"into"different"jazz"scenes," the"professionalization"and"institutionalization"of"jazz"practices,"the"emancipation"from" American"jazz"practices,"and"the"declining"audiences"as"a"consequence"of"changes" within"teenage"culture?"To"answer"these"questions,"I"critically"engage"with"the"writings" of"some"of"the"leading"Dutch"jazz"critics"of"the"1960s"and"1970s"(Rudy"Koopmans,"Bert" Vuijsje,"Michiel"de"Ruyter,"Ruud"Kuyper,"among"others)"and"examine"their"work"in" connection"with"their"esthetical"and"political"beliefs."After"introducing"some"of"these" leading"jazz"journalists,"I"show"how"critics"during"the"1970s"attempted,"for"the"first"time," to"canonize"jazz"in"the"Netherlands"into"a"singular"narrative,"stressing"economic"and" political"change"as"crucial"factors"to"what"they"considered"the"jazz"revolution"of"the" 1960s."Inventing"new"critical"tropes"and"creating"new"terminology,"these"critics" underlined"the"music’s"particularities"rather"than"similarities"in"relation"to"the" dominant"American"narrative"and"consequently"reinforced"the"idea"of"improvised" music"as"a"distinctively"Dutch"jazz"practice." " Chapter"Five"engages"with"the"understanding"of"nonHAmerican"jazz"practices"and"the" global"spread"of"jazz"from"an"American"mainstream"perspective,"by"studying"the" mediation"of"Dutch"and"European"jazz"in"the"American"jazz"magazine"Down-Beat."I" expose"underlying"ideologies"and"implications"of"the"American"jazz"narrative,"by" exploring"the"role"and"function"of"some"of"the"key"actors"through"which"the"story"of" European"jazz"is"told;"correspondents,"American"musicians"visiting"and"migrating" Europe,"European"musicians,"and"European"audiences."Notwithstanding"Down-Beat’s- announced"international"focus,"the"magazine"primarily"concentrated"on"the"promotion" of"American"jazz"practices,"while"reinforcing"stereotyped"notions"of"jazz"as"a"maleH dominated,"essentially"African"American"music"practice."This"type"of"stereotypeH imposed"storytelling,"together"with"a"general"resistance"against"explaining"jazz"in" national"sounds,"partly"explains"why"little"references"are"found"on"more"specific" characteristics"in"local"sounds"and"audiences"in"Europe."It"demonstrates"how,"for" example,"when"Down-Beat"journalist"Michael"Zwerin"criticizes"Dutch"pianist"Misha" Mengelberg"for"playing"“too"intellectual”"and"overHoccupied"with"“harmonic,"thematic" and"formalistic"aspects,”"he"both"draws"from"and"reinforces"the"idiom"of"stereotyped" imagery"that"is"inextricably"bound"up"with"the"American"jazz"narrative,"in"this"case"of" the"“intellectual,"white"European.”""

216" " " Altogether,"Chapters"Four"and"Five"demonstrate"how"journalists"played"a"formative"role," not"only"in"defining"the"history"of"Dutch"jazz"but"also"in"shaping"its"significance"in"Dutch" and"American"cultural"life."The"study"of"the"interconnectedness"between"jazz"and" written"media"demonstrates"how"the"mediatization"of"jazz"both"conditions"and" generates"shared"value"systems"and"consequently"contributes"to"the"identification"of" musical"communities."Moreover,"it"demonstrate"how"written"media"are"a"valuable" source"of"studying"the"implicit"value"systems"that"inform"musical"practices,"as"they" function"as"an"important"platform"to"discuss,"disseminate"and"reflect"on"cultural"change." " For"a"thorough"understanding"of"the"complexities"of"Dutch"jazz"and"improvised"music,"it" is"crucial"to"explore"how"the"establishment"of"a"structural"public"funding"system"and"the" emergence"of"Dutch"improvised"music"began"to"interact"during"the"1970s."In"the"last" chapter,"I"further"investigate"the"impact"of"subsidies"on"musical"performance"and" examine"how"governmental"support"affected"the"understanding"of"Dutch"improvised" music"as"a"distinctively"Dutch"music."I"do"this"by"means"of"a"multiHfaceted"analysis"and" close"reading"of"the"Zeeland-Suite-(1977),"one"of"the"richest"performances"in"Dutch" improvised"music"in"terms"of"musical"style,"cultural"symbolism"and"national" representations."By"deconstructing"and"close"reading"the"suite’s"production," performance"and"representation,"I"argue"that"the"renewed"funding"system"deeply" impacted"both"the"production"and"the"representation"of"improvised"music"in"the" Netherlands."Further,"by"studying"the"musical"performance"in"connection"to"cultural" symbols"that"have"come"to"represent"the"regional"cultural"identity"of"Zeeland"(the" province’s"motto"“Luctor"et"emergo”,-the"Deltaworks"et"al),"the"suite"shows"how" studying"music"as"a"carrier"of"cultural"meaning"contributes"to"the"understanding"of" issues"of"cultural"identity."Ultimately"then,"this"chapter"demonstrates"the"intricate" liaison"between"the"arts,"media"(representation)"and"politics,"and"the"emergence"of"the" idea—at"least—of"a"jazz"that"was"distinctively"Dutch."" " "

217" "