UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) "Our subcultural shit-music": Dutch jazz, representation, and cultural politics Rusch, L. Publication date 2016 Document Version Final published version Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Rusch, L. (2016). "Our subcultural shit-music": Dutch jazz, representation, and cultural politics. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. 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UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:28 Sep 2021 1.&Community,&scenes&and&narratives& In"1978,"journalists"and"musicians"associated"with"the"Stichting"Jazz"in"the"Netherlands" (Foundation"for"Jazz"in"the"Netherlands,"from"here"on:"SJN)"and"the"Jazz/Press"magazine" published"Jazz-&-Geïmproviseerde-Muziek-in-Nederland,"a"“companion"to"the"Dutch"jazz" world.”39"The"book,"edited"by"Wim"van"Eyle,"served"in"the"first"place"as"a"platform"to" inform"jazz"professionals"and"enthusiasts"about"venues,"labels,"magazines,"record"stores" and"people"active"in"the"field"of"jazz."Also,"the"book"contains"a"number"of"short"historic" narratives,"including"the"histories"of"traditional"jazz"in"the"Netherlands;"jazz"between" 1945H1965;"jazz"and"improvised"music"between"1965H1978;"the"history"of"the" Foundation"of"Jazz"in"the"Netherlands;"jazz"on"the"radio;"Dutch"jazz"and"related"music;" Belgian"jazz;"Dutch"jazz"records;"and"100"years"(!)"of"Dutch"jazz"writing"between"1877H 1977."This"way,"the"compilers"sought"to"chronicle"what"they"considered"the"“unique" story”"of"Dutch"jazz,"a"story"that"“needed"to"be"captured”"before"the"first"generation"of" Dutch"jazz"musicians"ceased"to"exist." " The"publication"of"the"Companion-followed"from"and"reflected"the"increasing" institutionalization"and"professionalization"of"Dutch"jazz"culture"during"the"1970s"and" the"optimism"felt"among"Dutch"jazz"enthusiasts."In"1974,"for"example,"the"Bimhuis— named"after"the"1971"founding"of"an"improvising"musicians’"union—opened"its"doors," the"first"Dutch"concert"hall"especially"designated"for"jazz"and"improvised"music."Two" years"later,"jazz"critic"and"impresario"Paul"Acket"organized"the"first"edition"of"what" would"become"the"internationally"renowned"North"Sea"Jazz"Festival."That"same"year," conservatories"in"the"Netherlands"began"to"include"jazz"in"their"curricula."In"his" foreword"to"the"Companion,"prominent"jazz"promoter"and"radio"host"Michiel"de"Ruyter" asserts"that,"“Jazz"in"the"Netherlands"shows"an"upward"trend,”"observing"an"increase"of" venues,"festivals,"labels,"radio"programs"and"literature"featuring"jazz."However," “symbolically"the"most"important”"event"for"the"recognition"of"Dutch"jazz"on"the" international"stage"and"improvised"music,"was"according"to"De"Ruyter,"the"visit"of"“a" New"Yorker,”"who"had"traveled"across"the"Atlantic"especially"to"attend"a"concert"by"one" """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 39"Wim"van"Eyle,"ed.,"Jazz-&-Geïmproviseerde-Muziek:-Handboek-voor-de-Nederlandse-Jazzwereld- (Antwerpen:"Het"Spectrum,"1978),"6." 17" " of"Dutch"leading"improvised"music"ensembles,"the"Willem"Breuker"Kollektief."“Indeed,”" De"Ruyter"recalls,"“in"1977"the"first"American"[fan]"came"over"to"the"Netherlands"to" hear"what’s"going"on"over"here.”40"Altogether,"De"Ruyter’s"observations,"the"tone"of"the" articles,"and"the"companion"itself"signaled"an"increasing"selfHawareness"and"optimism" among"musicians"and"journalists"about"Dutch"jazz"and"its"significance"on"the" international"stage." " Jazz-&-Geïmproviseerde-Muziek-in-Nederland"was"the"first"companion"to"express"an" outspoken"desire"among"Dutch"jazz"journalists"and"musicians"to"manifest"themselves"as" part"of"a"local"jazz"and"improvised"music"community—a"community"of"professionals."It" followed"the"example"of"similar"publications"that"had"appeared"earlier"in"Belgium," Scandinavia,"England,"Germany,"Switzerland"and"the"United"States."The"editors"asserted" with"confidence"that,"“It"was"about"time"that"the"Netherlands"too"presented"its"own" ‘who"is"who’"in"jazz.”41"Together"with"market"research"bureau"Inter/view,"the"editors" compiled"746"short"biographies"with"the"contact"details"of"musicians"(89"percent)"and" nonHmusicians"such"as"programmers,"promoters,"and"photographers."The"list"“officially" presented”"the"members"of"the"BIM,"the"union"for"improvising"musicians"that"had"been" founded"in"1971"with"the"purpose"of"“providing"the"government"with"a"recognizable" support"group"for"jazz.”42"Moreover,"the"Companion"presented"jazz"in"the"Netherlands" as"an"important"part"of"“cultural"history”"with"a"significant"past"and"an"exciting" presence." " While"Jazz-&-Geïmproviseerde-Muziek-in-Nederland-presents"the"1970s"jazz"and" improvised"music"community"in"the"Netherlands"as"a"homogeneous,"even"harmonious" whole,"the"biographies—which"in"most"cases"had"been"provided"by"the"jazz" professionals"themselves—suggest"a"much"more"complex"socioHcultural"practice."In" """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 40"Ibid.,"7." 41"Van"Eyle,"ed.,"Jazz-&-Geïmproviseerde-Muziek,"6." 42"The"handbook’s"presentation"of"the"“professional”"Dutch"jazz"and"improvised"music"community"is"very" optimistic,"as"only"a"handful"of"the"listed"jazz"professionals"made"a"fulltime"living"from"jazz."In"a"1978" study,"Frans"van"Leeuwen"calculated"that"the"gross"national"income"for"jazz"as"generated"by"ticket"sales," subsidies"and"additional"funding"would"allow"for"approximately"one"hundred"musicians"to"earn"their" income"by"playing"jazz."His"estimation"of"the"total"jazz"community"amounted"to"300"jazz"and"improvising" musicians,"consisting"of"181"BIMHmembers"and"120"“active"nonHmembers.”"Frans"van"Leeuwen,"De"fluit" en"de"duit"(deel"4"H"slot),""Jazz/Press"53/54"(1978):"33." 18" " terms"of"ethnic"background,"for"example,"the"musicians"showed"quite"a"diversity."With" almost"10"percent"of"its"members"born"outside"the"Netherlands,"jazz"and"improvised" music"represented"twentyHone"different"nationalities."Of"these,"sixteen"jazz"musicians" came"from"the"United"States"and"resided"in"the"Netherlands"permanently,"or,"in"case"of" saxophonists"Don"Byas,"Coleman"Hawkins"and"Ben"Webster,"stayed"in"the"Netherlands" on"a"temporary"basis."By"far"the"largest"number"of"the"musicians"listed"who"were"not" born"in"the"Netherlands"came"from"the"former"Dutch"colonies"Indonesia"(24),"Surinam" (5)"and"Curacao"(1).43"The"ethnic"background"of"the"musicians"not"only"reveals"the" country’s"colonial"past,"but"also"underlines"the"notion"of"jazz"as"a"transnational"practice" that"encapsulates"and"embodies"multiple"musical"traditions;"a"music"that"should"be" understood"as,"in"the"words"of"E."Taylor"Atkins,"“a"harbinger"of"what"we"now"call" ‘globalization.’”"44"A"further"study"of"the"biographies"shows"how"1970s"jazz"and" improvised"music"in"the"Netherlands"also"represented"a"musically"and"stylistically" diverse"and"maleHdominated"space"of"cultural"activity."The"categories"used"by"the" musicians"to"define"their"music"illustrate"how"the"label"“jazz"and"improvised"music”" covered"a"wide"range"of"musical"styles"and"genres."While"most"musicians"used" conventional"jazz"styles"to"label"their"music"(“Dixieland,”"“swing,”"“bop,”"“free" improvised"music,”"“rock"jazz”),"the"alternatives"(“modern"Dixieland,”"“music"theatre,”" “people’s"music,”"“honest"style,”"“music"influenced"by"African"folk"music"and"Japanese" classical"music,”"among"others)"at"the"same"time"indicated"the"musicians’"unease"with" labels"that"confined"their"creative"work"into"prescriptive"pigeonholes."The"absence"of" women"on"the"list"is"particularly"striking."No"less"than"4"percent"of"the"entries"are"on" """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" 43"Indonesia"(24),"U.S.A."(16),"Belgium"(5),"Surinam"(5),"Germany"(3),"France"(2),"Russia"(2),"U.K."(2)," British"Guyana,"Curaçao,"Denmark,"Ghana,"Greece,"India,"Monaco,"Austria,"SouthHAfrica,"Switzerland," Venezuela,"Zambia."Photographer"Rico"d’Rozario’s"country"of"birth,"India,"is"not"mentioned."" Indonesia"(24):"Rob"Agerbeek,"Hans"Assenderp,"Gé"Bakker,"Richard"Daniëls,"Nedley"Elstak,"Fred"Gilhuys," Edgar"de"Haas,"Juul"van"Hogezand,"Victor"Kaihatu,"Eric"Krans,"Max"Lim,"Theo"Uden"Masman,"Charlie" Nanlohy,"Frank"Noya,"Nippy"Noya,"Bob"van"Oven,"Babs"Pronk,"Rob"Pronk,"Ruud"Pronk,"Bas"Schop,"Lu" Ssanet,"Aart"Steffelaar,"Flip"Willemse,"Peter"Ypma;"U.S.A."(16):"Joe"Albany,"Don"Byas,"Johnny"Dunn,"Frank" Grasso,"Charlie"Green,"Burton"Greene,"Rosa"King,"Johnny"Griffin,"Coleman"Hawkins,"Tristan"Honsinger," Freddie"Johnson,"Ben"Webster,"Wilbur"Little,"Sandy"Mosse,"Irv"Rochlin,"Glenn"Spearman;"Canada:"Alan" Laurillard;"Belgium"(5):"Mon"Devoghelaere,"Fred"van"Hove,"Bert"Page,"Jean"Robert,"Marcel"Thielemans;" Surinam"(5):"Teddy"Cotton,"Kid"Dynamite,"Wim"Essed,"Ronald"Snijders,"Henny"Vonk;"Germany"(3):"Toto" Blanke,"Thijs"Chanowski,"Eddy"Marron;"France"(2):"JeanHPierre"Perroud,"Hans"Vlig"van"der"Sijs;"Russia"(2):"