‘A tale of five festivals’

Exploring the cultural intermediary function of Australian jazz festivals

Authors

  • Brent Keogh Macquarie University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jazz.v8i1-2.26878

Keywords:

Jazz, Festivals, Australia, Cultural Intermediary

Abstract

This paper considers the cultural intermediary function of Australian jazz festivals. It presents a detailed analysis of programming patterns across five Australian Jazz music festivals – namely, the Manly Jazz Festival, Wangaratta Festival of Jazz and Blues, Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Brisbane International Jazz Festival, and Bellingen Jazz Festival – in the ten year period, 2004-2014. Using this data, this paper draws attention to the ‘search and select’ function of cultural intermediaries speaking to the broader significance of festivals as sites of popular music study. This paper considers a number of programming trends, including a comparison between local and international musicians; the frequency with which musicians performed at each festival and across festivals; issues of gender in programming; and identify musicians who could be placed into a number of genre categories, with a particular focus on those musicians who identify in some way with the category of World Music. This study presents an insight into current trends in jazz scenes in Australia and the roles that festivals play as cultural intermediaries in contributing to this aspect of Australian cultural life.

Author Biography

  • Brent Keogh, Macquarie University

    Brent Keogh is a musician and academic, specialising in the areas of popular music studies and ethnomusicology. His doctoral studies examined the discourse of World Music in Australia. He has published in the areas of arts policy, musical sustainability, music ecology, and music festivals. He currently teaches at Macquarie University and UTS in the areas of Popular Music, International Communications, and Media Studies. He also plays and performs on the oud, an Egyptian lute, and has studied for a number of years with oud virtuoso and ARIA award winner Joseph Tawadros.

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Published

2015-06-16

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Keogh, B. (2015). ‘A tale of five festivals’: Exploring the cultural intermediary function of Australian jazz festivals. Jazz Research Journal, 8(1-2), 182-201. https://doi.org/10.1558/jazz.v8i1-2.26878