Svenskt visarkiv, jazzen och musikvetenskapen

Abstract

The Swedish Centre for Folk Song and Folk Music Research - jazz - musicology
During 1978-81 a research project was conducted into jazz in Sweden up to about 1950. The project was financed by the Swedish Council for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences and was primarily designed as interviews of the pioneers in Swedish jazz and related music. In addition, a collection was started of records, tape recordings, photographs, advertisements, newspaper cuttings,
etc., for future reference. During the project period a conference was arranged, Nordic Jazz Research, which attracted delegates from Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. A similar project was conducted in Denmark during 1975-80 which resulted in a dissertation by Erik Wiedemann. On 1 July 1981 research into jazz in Sweden was given official status when a special Jazz Section was opened at The Swedish Centre for Folk Song and Folk Music Research, where the various types of material had been collected during the project period. A special series, Publications from the Jazz Section, The Swedish Centre for Folk Song and Folk Music Research, is now being published (reports, discographs, etc.). In addition to the original collections, a comprehensive library of records and literature is being built up. A record anthology 'Swedish Jazz History' is being issued by Rikskonserter (National Concerts) with the support of the Jazz Section. A number of theoretical and methodological problems are formulated in the article, particularly those important when jazz is studied by musicologists. It is argued that jazz research should not be conducted in isolation but that knowledge of methods and results obtained in other sectors, e.g., within the growing research in popular music and in the different sectors of musicology, should be available. A number of questions are formulated. How is it possible to adequately explain and illustrate the development that jazz has gone through in the various countries outside the USA, e.g., in Sweden, since the term 'jazz' became known around 1920? How can a description be given of the socio-cultural mechanisms that have countributed at different levels to influence jazz in different directions? Which methods should be tested and developed in order to obtain a musical analysis and increased insights into jazz as music? Thre is no lack of possible directions and problem areas.