I jazzens tecken.

Historieskrivning och tidig jazzreception i Frankrike och Norden

Abstract

Jazz in Perspective.
Historiography and Early Jazz Reception in France and the Nordic Countries

The establishment of jazz as an area for scholarly inquiry has developed considerably during the last 20 years, as has the increase of jazz literature in general. Despite the scholarly interest and many fine results, the scholarly work has probably received less attention than the world-wide educational endeavours of jazz in music schools, universities, etc. This study is focused on three interrelated aspects. Firstly: a general discussion of some premises and recent results in jazz historiography where notably the evaluation and place of European jazz is touched upon. Secondly: an introductory exploration of the early jazz reception in France and the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden) as submitted in recent documentation and scholarship projects. I have set these empirical findings in motion through a tentatively comparative discussion. Thirdly: I present a fairly detailed questionnaire that could serve as a pathfinder in further studies. One may follow two main areas: a reception field and a formative field which are closely interrelated and together give a fairly good overview of the multifaceted web that makes up the jazz area through the years within differing countries and regions outside the USA.