The Creation of Meaning and Identity in the Dublin Jazz Scene, Past and Present
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Technological University Dublin ARROW@TU Dublin Doctoral Applied Arts 2016-8 The Creation of Meaning and Identity in the Dublin Jazz Scene, Past and Present. Damian Evans Technological University Dublin Follow this and additional works at: https://arrow.tudublin.ie/appadoc Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation Evans, D. (2016) The creation of meaning and identity in the Dublin jazz scene, past and present. Doctoral thesis, Technological University Dublin, 2016. doi:10.21427/D7X32C This Theses, Ph.D is brought to you for free and open access by the Applied Arts at ARROW@TU Dublin. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral by an authorized administrator of ARROW@TU Dublin. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License THE CREATION OF MEANING AND IDENTITY IN THE DUBLIN JAZZ SCENE, PAST AND PRESENT DAMIAN EVANS, MMUS (Hons) PhD candidate Dublin Institute of Technology Supervisor: Dr Maria McHale Conservatory of Music and Drama August 2016 Abstract The narrative of jazz performance in Ireland is unique due to the political changes that coincided with the arrival of jazz and the influence these changes had on the nation. Over the last one hundred years, jazz performance in Dublin has represented contrasting values for different people. What has remained consistent is the notion of participation within a network of musicians, audience members, promotors and institutions that make up a scene. To participate in a scene is to be actively involved in contestation and negotiation as individuals and groups seek to create meaning and identity through jazz performance. In this thesis I examine both the development of the Dublin jazz scene and how meaning and identity is created through participation in it. It addresses an absence of scholarly work on jazz in Ireland beyond the anti-jazz movement of the 1920s, revealing an active community of jazz participants from the 1940s through to present times. It also addresses an imbalance of many jazz studies that focus only on ‘top-level’ performers, disregarding the complex interrelationships between not only musicians of all levels, but of the experience of audience members, journalists, promoters and others who participate in the performance of jazz. This dissertation first conducts an historical overview of the Dublin jazz scene using primarily archival research. It then uses ethnographic methods to investigate and analyse the scene through its musicians, venues, educational institutions, audiences, promotional bodies and record labels. It argues that the day-to-day activities of jazz musicians, including those outside what has been traditionally viewed as ‘jazz’, should be taken into account when attempting to fully understand jazz performance. This dissertation highlights the long history of jazz performance in Dublin and gives voice to the participants within the scene and places those voices within the context of wider issues in jazz studies. i Declaration I certify that this thesis which I now submit for examination for the award of PhD is entirely my own work and has not been taken from the work of others, save and to the extent that such work has been cited and acknowledged within the text of my work. This thesis was prepared according to the regulations for postgraduate study by research of the Dublin Institute of Technology and has not been submitted in whole or in part for any other award in any other third level institution. The work reported on in this thesis conforms to the principles and requirements of the DIT’s guidelines for ethics in research. DIT has permission to keep, lend or copy this thesis in whole or in part, on condition that any such use of the material of the thesis be duly acknowledged. Signature: (Candidate) Date: ii Acknowledgements Many people contributed to this dissertation. I would firstly like to thank the Dublin Institute of Technology, for the financial support provided by the Fiosraigh, Dean of Graduate’s Award. All the staff at both the Graduate Office and the Conservatory of Music and Drama have always been happy to help. I thank my supervisor Maria McHale for her invaluable advice and support. Maria was patient, generous and helpful throughout the writing of this thesis and I greatly appreciate her huge contribution to my work. My advisory supervisor Jaime Jones was highly influential in the overall direction of this thesis. Her invitation to attend her ethnomusicology seminars gave me a context where I felt music and scholarship spoke to one another in a way I had not felt before. Our subsequent meetings provided new insights and directions and I feel privileged to have had Jaime for support and advice. John Feeley was my supervisor for the early part of my PhD studies and provided wonderful support as I embarked on my journey. I thank him for his encouragement and enthusiasm. There were countless participants in the Dublin jazz scene who took the time to speak to me, either formally or informally. Others helped my research through their friendships and music. While I cannot name them all, the list includes: Nathan Bakkum, Philip Bedford, Roland Bent, Cian Boylan, Sean Brophy, Cote Calmet, Emilie Conway, Julien Colarossi, Jim Doherty, Barry Donahue, Brendan Doyle, Phil Collins, Myles Drennan, Peter Erdei, Grainne Farren, Scott Flanigan, Dave Fleming, Gerry Godley, Patrick Groenland, Ronan Guilfoyle, Linley Hamilton, Donald Helme, Matthew Jacobson, Kenneth Killeen, Shane Latimer, Tony McDonald, Edel Meade, Nigel Mooney, John Moriarty, Carole Nelson, Paul O’Donnell, Darragh O’Kelly, David O’Rourke, Brian Palm, Brian Priestley, Dominic Reilly, Dylan Rynhart, Guy Rickarby, Karl Rooney, Suzanne Savage, Allen Smith, Francesco Turrisi, Paul Wade, Maria Walsh, Phil Ware, Katherine Wyers and Yoon So-Young. While preparing this dissertation for printing, the great Louis Stewart passed away, having been ill for many months. I would like to acknowledge his contribution to jazz in Ireland and his kindness to me personally. iii Colin Harper spared me hours of painstaking work by proofreading my thesis and offering valuable insights and ideas. He went well beyond a proofreader’s remit and I thank him for that. My tutors and colleagues at GradCam, Graduate School of Creative Arts and Media were invaluable in developing my approach to a research project within the arts. In particular Martin McCabe, Lisa Godson, Noel Fitzpatrick, Mick Wilson, Pat Daley, Brian Ó hUigínn, Nollaig Ó Fiongháile, Seán McErlaine, Martin Tourish and Drazen Derrick. I would like to acknowledge a particular debt to Cormac Kenevey, Johnny Taylor, Dominic Mullan. Johnny and Dominic gave freely of their time and talent as part of my trio and countless other musical collaborations. Cormac has always (well, not always) been a source of support, willing to help out and listen to my ramblings. Now we know. A very large part of who I am (the good parts) are due to my family, my parents Vincent and Judith Evans and my brother Brendan Evans. Thank you for everything you have given me. My late grandparents Norm and Lena Candy were a large part of my formative years, as were my extended family, including my Uncle Jim Candy who very generously gave me financial support during my studies. My extended Irish family have always treated me as one of their own. I thank them all for all the love they have given me. Finally, my wife Ann Lorraine Mack has always given me her unconditional support and I have appreciated that over the duration of my studies. I am very lucky to have someone who cares for me and loves me as she does and I would like to express my gratitude and love to her. iv Abbreviations List BAJP: Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Jazz Performance DIT: Dublin Institute of Technology GAA: Gaelic Athletic Association HERA: Humanities in the European Research Area HETAC: Higher Education and Training Awards Council IMC: Improvised Music Company JPI: Joint Programming Initiatives. KC: King’s Council LGSM: Licentiate of the Guildhall School of Music NCEA: National Council for Educational Awards Newpark: Newpark Music Centre PA: Public Announcement (System) PMTC: Professional Musician Training Course QQI: Quality and Qualifications Ireland RTÉ: Raidió Teilifís Éireann TD: Teachta Dála. Deputy to the Dáil. A member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament). v Table of Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. i Declaration ........................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... iii Abbreviations List ............................................................................................................. v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. vi Table of Figures ................................................................................................................ x Table of Tables ................................................................................................................. x Introduction ...................................................................................................................... xi Chapter