Making ourselves heard

From a ‘Field of Dreams’ to building a collective voice

Authors

  • Petter Frost Fadnes University of Stavanger

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jazz.v5i1-2.187

Keywords:

Collectives, Improvised music, Kitchen Orchestra, Leeds Improvised Music Association

Abstract

The contemporary jazz collective is still a thriving, innovative force within much of European musical thinking. The musicians’ collectives are built on communal idealism, and often based on a shared sense of aesthetic vision. The effort is traditionally concentrated on revolutionising their working conditions with an aim to regain power over their own musical output. Such control can be (re)gained locally by communally taking on various roles beyond ‘mere’ music making. These collectives arise from and respond to different socio-political and cultural circumstances, where aspects like public funding, access to audiences, local education, etc., play greatly into the justification of their formation. With this in mind, I will here discuss the circumstances of two relatively young European collectives, writing primarily from the experiences as co-founding musician of both the Leeds Improvised Music Association (LIMA) and the Kitchen Orchestra (Stavanger, Norway).

Author Biography

  • Petter Frost Fadnes, University of Stavanger

    Petter Frost Fadnes is Associate Professor at the Department of Music and Dance, University of Stavanger, and is currently principal investigator for the Humanities in the European Research Area (HERA) funded research project Rhythm Changes: Jazz Cultures and European Identities. He performs with players from Norway and the UK, and continues to seek ‘the perfect melody’ through eclectic musical approaches within the settings of improvised music.

References

Attali, Jacques (1989) Noise: The Political Economy of Music. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Nipen, Kjersti (2012) ‘Blå Storbyer bruker mest på kultur’, aftenposten.no, http://www.aftenposten.no/kultur/article4215938.ece#.T1iF8MwbdFw (accessed 23 March 2012).

Riley, Mykaell, and Dave Laing (2006) ‘The Value of Jazz in Britain’. Jazz Services report, available at www.jazzservices.org.uk

Published

2012-11-19

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Frost Fadnes, P. (2012). Making ourselves heard: From a ‘Field of Dreams’ to building a collective voice. Jazz Research Journal, 5(1-2), 187-199. https://doi.org/10.1558/jazz.v5i1-2.187