Sociological Notes on the Jam Session

Abstract

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Audience orientation and the occupational rhetoric of public house performers

“…Other studies of musical performance (Becker, 1963;Merrian and Mack, 1966;Stebbins, 1966,1968,1969and Cameron 1955 have categorized professional musicians into two types: those of the jazz and commercial musician. Becker distinguishes between the jazz musician and the commercial musician depending on:…”

The occupational orientations of jazz musicians: Some recent findings and a reexamination of the evidence

“…For the most part, the community of jazz modernists in St. Louis prefers the self-isolation reported in earlier studies (Cameron, 1954;Merriam and Mack, 1960). Members are knowledgeable in some areas of life such as sex, drugs, and street survival, but naive in many others because their Downloaded by [New York University] at 11:16 25 June 2016 profession's work schedules and demand for practice removes them from many everyday activities.…”

“…While espousing a liberal philosophy and routinely favoring all underdogs, they rarely go beyond expressions of verbal support to become politically involved in a cause. Most things not directly related to what is believed to be essential-food, drink, sex, and music-are generally considered unimportant (Cameron, 1954).…”

Jam sessions in Madrid’s blues scene: musical experience in hybrid performance models

“…In order to approach blues jam sessions, studies focused in jazz (Becker 2008;Berliner 1994;Cameron 1954;DeVeaux 1997;Pinheiro 2011) provide a useful background to understand this particular performance model, where different guest musicians take turns to perform. The interest in this area has been mainly related to learning and improvisatory processes and environments, generally seen from the musicians' point of view.…”

“…In his early account, Cameron (1954) defined a jam session as "a recreational rather than a vocational activity of jazz musicians." Cameron's work, based on his experience as a dance musician ("for money") and a jazz musician ("for pleasure"), set out some of the recurring ideas that have accompanied the conceptualization of jam sessions, such as the separation between "commercial" and "jazz" worlds, and between musicians and I@J vol.4, no.1 (2014) www.iaspmjournal.net audiences.…”