The Jazz and Improvised Music Scene in Vienna After Ossiach (1971-2011)
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2013 Free from Jazz: The Jazz and Improvised Music Scene in Vienna after Ossiach (1971-2011) Thomas Albert Zlabinger Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/1684 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] FREE FROM JAZZ: THE JAZZ AND IMPROVISED MUSIC SCENE IN VIENNA AFTER OSSIACH (1971-2011) by THOMAS ALBERT ZLABINGER A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2013 ii 2013 THOMAS ALBERT ZLABINGER All Rights Reserved iii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Music in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Prof. Jeffrey Taylor Date Chair of Examining Committee Prof. David Olan Date Executive Officer Prof. Peter Manuel Prof. Stephen Blum Prof. Reinhold Wagnleitner (Universität Salzburg) Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iv ABSTRACT Free from Jazz: The Jazz and Improvised Music Scene in Vienna after Ossiach (1971-2011) by Thomas Albert Zlabinger Advisor: Prof. Peter Manuel Focusing on a diverse and eclectic scene that is under-documented, this dissertation investigates the historical, social, and cultural aspects of jazz and improvised music in Vienna over the last four decades. Through fieldwork, I have observed various characteristics and trends regarding the jazz and improvised music scene in Vienna and have subsequently organized the musicians and their recordings into seven fluid “fields”: Traditional-U.S. Performance, Post-Tradition, DJ/Hip-Hop, Volk/Ethnic, Cabaret, Unclassified, and Abroad. One of the most striking aspects of the entire scene is the near-absence of a racialized discourse among musicians and critics and of stereotypical markers of “blackness” in performance. Moreover, the absence of an African- descendent population in Austria, due to the country’s near-lack of a colonial history, distinguishes it from the U.S.’s jazz context. Even without a colonial history, one of the common threads throughout Austria’s history is cultural mixture (Brook-Shepherd 1996) due to its geographic location and its propensity to merge with its neighbors through marriage rather than might. Also, Austria’s jazz scene had no need to resist a U.S.-model of jazz performance practice, while other jazz scenes in Europe and around the world struggled to “be free of America” (Atkins 2001). Therefore, the construction of jazz and improvised music in Vienna is better seen as a process of cultural layering, rather than the more familiar process of signifying (Gates 1988) in the U.S. Finally, most jazz and improvised music is performed without a driving rhythm. I highlight these and other aspects of Vienna’s scene by examining recordings by Mathias Rüegg, Franz Koglmann, Wolfgang Mitterer, Clemens Salesny, Franz Hautzinger, and ctrl. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank the members of my committee. I cannot thank my advisor, Prof. Peter Manuel, enough for all his guidance and continued patience with all the rewriting. I would like to thank Prof. Stephen Blum for his brutal honesty and thoroughness. And from a distance, Prof. Reinhold Wagnleitner not only provided the necessary Austrian perspective to the work. He also graciously invited me to speak at the Universität Salzburg in 2010, which greatly help move my thinking forward at a crucial time. And finally, I would like to thank my committee chair, Prof. Jeffrey Taylor, who guided the work in for a smooth landing over the winter break. Second, I would like thank everyone I spoke to and performed with in Vienna over the years, most notably Thomas Berghammer, Max Bogner, dieb13, Marco Eneidi, Viola Falb, Andreas Felber, Susanna Gartmayer, Franz Hautzinger, Christoph Huber, Helmut Jarosik, Franz Kerschbaumer, Franz Koglmann, Stefan Krist, Lukas Ligeti, Alex Lustig, Fritz Novotny, Clemens Salesny and the extended members of JazzWerkstatt Wien, Bernhard Schöberl, and Gerhard Woratschek. And there were many more who were so generous to me. Finally, I would like to thank my family for all their support throughout this long and involved process. My parents are my original Austrian/U.S.-American connection, without whom none of this would have even happened. I would like to honor the memory of my grandmother, Kathryn Whitlow, who repeatedly helped me throughout my academic career. And I must also thank my amazing wife, Lesley, who dared to move to New York with me, always believed in me, and knew I would indeed finish. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………….. iv I. INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………….. 1 A. Research Methodology…………………………………………………………. 7 B. Author’s Personal History………………………………………………………. 10 II. OVERVIEW OF JAZZ AND IMPROVISED MUSIC IN VIENNA……..……………. 15 A. Some U.S.-American and Austrian Definitions of Jazz………………… ……... 15 B. The Emergence and Emancipation (or Lack Thereof) of Jazz in Vienna………. 34 C. The E- (Ernste) and U- (Unterhaltungs) Musik Divide in Austria……………... 51 D. Jazz Education in Austria……………………………………………………….. 53 E. Economic Support of Jazz and Improvised Music in Austria…………………... 58 F. Jazz and Improvised Music Venues in Vienna…………………………………. 60 1. A Traditional Jazz Venue: Jazzland……………………………………... 60 2. Not-So-Traditional Jazz Venues: miles smiles and Blue Tomato………. 61 3. A State-Funded Venue: Porgy & Bess…………………………………... 63 4. A “Free” Venue: Celeste Jazz Bar………………………………………. 66 5. Tiny Venues: Amann Studios, garnison7, and Salon Goldschlag………. 67 6. Exotic Venues: ost klub and Luftbad……………………………………. 70 7. Electronic and Rock Venues: Fluc and rhiz……………………………... 71 vii G. Classification of Fields in Jazz and Improvised Music in Vienna……………… 72 1. Traditional-U.S. Performance…………………………………………… 73 2. Post-Tradition…………………………………………………………… 74 3. DJ/Hip-Hop……………………………………………………………… 76 4. Volk/Ethnic……………………………………………………………… 78 5. Cabaret…………………………………………………………………... 80 6. Unclassified……………………………………………………………… 81 7. Abroad…………………………………………………………………… 84 8. Multiple Field Occupancy……………………………………………….. 85 9. Major Musicians and Bands Arranged by Field……………………........ 85 H. Field / Venue Correlation in Jazz and Improvised Music in Vienna…………… 88 I. Four Major “Gravitational Centers” in Jazz and Improvised Music in Vienna..... 89 III. CONCEPTUALIZING JAZZ AND IMPROVISED MUSIC IN VIENNA…………… 93 A. The Near-Absence of Race and the Process of Cultural Layering……………... 93 B. The Scarcity of the Traditional-U.S. Jazz Canon……………………………….. 104 C. The Absence of Driving Rhythm……………………………………………….. 109 D. Examples of “Typical” Jazz and Improvised Music in Vienna after “Emancipation”……………………………………….………………….. 113 1. Mathias Rüegg’s From No Time to Rag Time (1983)…………………… 116 2. Franz Koglmann’s Schlaf Schlemmer, Schlaf Magritt (1984)…………... 120 3. Wolfgang Mitterer’s Call Boys Inc. (1988) …………………………….. 124 4. Jazz and Improvised Music in Vienna after the 1980s………………….. 129 viii 5. Clemens Salesny Electric Band’s Live at JazzWerkstatt (2008)……....... 130 6. Franz Hautzinger’s Gomberg II >>Profile<< (2007)………………….. 133 7. ctrl’s 25.11 (2007)……………………………………………………….. 138 E. Performing Jazz and Improvised Music with Austrians………………………… 142 IV. FURTHER RESEARCH AND CONCLUSION………………………………………. 151 A. Dynamic Computer Modeling to Illustrate Interaction among Musicians……... 151 B. Focus on Audience Reception of Jazz and Improvised Music in Vienna………. 153 C. Jazz as Defined by Non-Austrian and/or Non-Jazz Musicians in Austria……… 156 D. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………… 157 V. APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………….. 158 A. People…………………………………………………………………………… 158 1. Jazz and Improvising Musicians Relevant to Vienna…………………… 158 2. Relevant Non-Musicians in Vienna……………………………………... 170 3. Austrian Jazz and Improvising Musicians Living Outside of Austria…... 171 4. Additional Musicians……………………………………………………. 172 B. Bands, Collectives, Ensembles, and Groups Relevant to Vienna………………. 176 C. Venues in Vienna……………………………………………………………….. 180 D. Concert Series in Vienna………………………………………………………... 182 E. Broadcast Media in Vienna……………………………………………………... 183 F. Print Media in Vienna…………………………………………………………… 184 G. Record Stores in Vienna………………………………………………………... 184 ix H. Record Labels…………………………………………………………………... 184 I. Festivals in Austria………………………………………………………………. 187 J. Music Schools in Austria………………………………………………………... 188 K. Performing Rights Organizations and Music Promotion Societies in Austria….. 189 L. Additional Institutions and Resources in Vienna……………………………….. 189 M. Additional Institutions and Resources Outside of Vienna and Austria………… 190 N. Questionnaires…………………………………………………………………... 191 1. Initial Questionnaire……………………………………………………... 191 2. Condensed Questionnaires………………………………………………. 195 a. Musicians………………………………………………………... 195 b. Non-Musicians…………………………………………………... 196 VI. SOURCES……………………………………………………………………………... 198 A. Bibliography…………………………………………………………………….. 198 B. Discography…………………………………………………………………….. 217 1. Recordings by Austrians and Non-Austrians Relevant to the Jazz and Improvised Music Scene in Vienna………………………………... 217 2. Recordings