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Zwischen den Stühlen. Zur (Nicht-)Erforschung von Jazz-Pop-Fusionen

Fusions of jazz and popular music have been popular for several decades. These fusions have given rise to numerous genres „in between“, such as jazz rock, acid jazz, jazz rap and electro swing, just to name a few. However, there has been almost no comprehensive research on most of these genres, in neither jazz nor popular music studies. This may be due to the parallel development of jazz and popular music studies in recent decades. Although there are numerous overlaps between jazz and popular music, certain historical developments in academia have caused the formation of two largely separated fields with their own study programs, journals, book series and scholarly communities. One possible consequence of these developments is that scholars in neither field have comprehensively investigated the musical repertoires „in between“. The aim of my chapter is to examine certain aspects of this historical separation by analyzing previous academic work on fusions of jazz and popular music. In doing so, I present the results of a content analysis of academic articles on these genres published in both jazz and popular music studies. The results of this content analysis make it clear that previous research on this topic has been very homogeneous in terms of the musical repertoires investigated and the methodological approaches. The example of jazz-pop fusions clearly illustrates how historical developments in academia can cause blind spots regarding research objects that lie in between alleged parallel worlds.

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Wer, wie, was heißt hier Parallelgesellschaften? Musikalische Praktiken von Profis und Amateur*innen im Feld der Jazz- und Pop-Coverbands: Eine praxisgeleitete Annäherung

Cover bands and their activities are conspicuously under-researched, despite the fact that these musical practices take place every day on a local level. Based on participant observations at various types of events and qualitative interviews with cover band musicians, this chapter examines the different concepts of professionality and amateurism that play a central role with cover bands. The following two sub-questions serve as a guide to a systematic approach to the central question of the existence of parallel societies among cover bands: Who are the musical actors and what separates or unites the circulating idea(l)s of professionals and amateurs? Which related attitudes and musical practices come to light as a result, and how are they performed? Empirical research reveals how biography, musical education, genre-specific role assignments and specific hierarchies divide cover bands into amateurs and professionals while simultaneously establishing a large and characteristic space in between. From the researcherʼs insider position as a singer in cover bands for several years, this chapter aims to provide a critical assessment of this heterogeneous field for discussion. Cover band-specific status attributions, attitudes and musical practices are fluid transitions, reflecting various overlaps without the hard, simplistic boundaries of alleged parallels, which are evaluated and performatively produced by the actors involved depending on the interaction situation.

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„Wer, wie, was heißt hier Parallelgesellschaften? Musikalische Praktiken von Profis und Amateur*innen im Feld der Jazz- und Pop-Coverbands: Eine praxisgeleitete Annäherung“ weiterlesen