‘We try to have the best’

Abstract

This article examines how international circulations of jazz artists in the Parisian jazz scene are structured by hierarchies based on the artists’ nationalities, gender and ‘race’. To do so, the author first describes which artists are showcased in the capital’s clubs and festivals in terms of gender, nationality and country of residence. This shows that the well-known venues in Paris book (male) American rather than French or other artists, and that their added symbolic value is simultaneously economic. Finally, the article centres on how the artists are presented in two specific festivals, revealing that even though ‘otherness’ and value are constructed along racial and gendered divides, they are also informed by artists’ nationality. Indeed, the dominant position of the United States and the opposition between the Western world and the global South are strongly dramatized within jazz in France, which shows some proximity to the ‘world music’ scene.

Gender as performance, experience, identity and, variable: A systematic review of gender research in jazz and improvisation

“…Lived experiences of discrimination influence individual improvisational practices (Hannaford, 2017), musician identity (MacDonald and Wilson, 2006;Wehr-Flowers, 2006) and contribute to experiences of marginalization (Williams, 2005). Low representation of women artists (10%) was also observed in Picaud's (2016) analysis of programming in the Parisian jazz scene which is reflective of broader tendencies toward a focus on genre, nationality and race as reflections of diversity in jazz, rather than gender (see also Suzuki, 2013).…”

“…A smaller number of papers ( 6) framed gender as a variable or means of comparison between study participants. These tended to be larger-scale or quantitative analyses, with a greater proportion of papers in this category having multiple authors (McKeage, 2004;Wehr-Flowers, 2006;Welch et al, 2008;Picaud, 2016;Wahl and Ellingson, 2018;McAndrew and Widdop, 2021). Frameworks employed came from cultural studies (Welch et al, 2008;Picaud, 2016;Wahl and Ellingson, 2018;McAndrew and Widdop, 2021), education (McKeage, 2004;Wehr-Flowers, 2006;Welch et al, 2008), and psychology (Wehr-Flowers, 2006).…”

“…These tended to be larger-scale or quantitative analyses, with a greater proportion of papers in this category having multiple authors (McKeage, 2004;Wehr-Flowers, 2006;Welch et al, 2008;Picaud, 2016;Wahl and Ellingson, 2018;McAndrew and Widdop, 2021). Frameworks employed came from cultural studies (Welch et al, 2008;Picaud, 2016;Wahl and Ellingson, 2018;McAndrew and Widdop, 2021), education (McKeage, 2004;Wehr-Flowers, 2006;Welch et al, 2008), and psychology (Wehr-Flowers, 2006). Although these studies were able to address gendered phenomena on a larger scale, analyses were less nuanced than those framing gender as an experience, identity, or performance.…”

“…Although these studies were able to address gendered phenomena on a larger scale, analyses were less nuanced than those framing gender as an experience, identity, or performance. Only one of these papers examined intersectional factors in any depth (Picaud, 2016), with the rest instead focussing on instrument played, musical genre, or musical activity (such as playing in a high school ensemble or industry setting) (McKeage, 2004;Wehr-Flowers, 2006;Welch et al, 2008;Wahl and Ellingson, 2018;McAndrew and Widdop, 2021).…”