An Ecology of the Large Jazz and Improvising Ensemble Scenes in the UK

这个多学科的研究项目源于我14年来在英国、欧洲和北美从事当代大型爵士乐和即兴音乐的专业参与。解决爵士乐、文化政策和媒体研究中的关键问题，我的目标是探索专业大型乐团、组织和基础设施的可持续生态系统，并思考为什么与欧洲其他地方相比，英国目前相对缺乏这些。从20世纪60年代起，英国成为爵士乐和即兴音乐创新的国际温床，大型乐团尤其突出，如吉布斯、威斯布鲁克、惠勒、科利尔等人(卡尔，1973)。然而，松管乐队(海宁，2018)和爵士勇士队(摩尔，2007)在20世纪90年代的解散标志着一个显著的转变；虽然今天的英国爵士乐无疑像以前一样有创造力(哈钦森，2018)，但活跃的大型阵型明显减少。这已经成为常态，以至于最近委托的英国议会爵士乐评论完全忽略了最初职权范围内的专业大型乐团(APPJAG，2021年)。古典交响乐团及其文化、社会和经济背景的演变是许多学术活动的焦点(Botstein，1996；Flanagan，2012)，但在爵士乐和即兴音乐中缺乏类似的大型乐团工作，特别是在美国以外的地方。这个项目是第一个全面调查他们在英国和欧洲的意义、遗产和价值的项目，从而更好地理解和欣赏这些乐团及其与当代文化的相关性，特别是在更广泛的爵士乐部门面临的问题和挑战的背景下(Raine，2020；主要研究问题是：a)大型爵士乐和即兴乐团在更广泛的文化景观中的文化、社会和经济价值是什么？b)大型爵士乐和即兴乐团获得艺术、经济、商业、政治、社会和环境成功和可持续发展所必需的文化和物质条件是什么？c)当代大型爵士乐和即兴乐团目前如何在英国的文化环境中运作，他们如何才能更好地运作？该项目的概念框架借鉴了包括Hesmondhalgh(2013；2019年)、Cohen(2000；2013)和Frith(2004；2008)在内的学者在文化政策、价值和遗产方面的工作。我的研究包括两个阶段：第一个阶段(兼职研究的第1-4年)试图通过在流行音乐研究中越来越多地使用生态方法进行文化图谱和案例研究来制定对问题的初步反应(Behr等人，2016；van der Hoven等人，2021)，但目前在爵士乐研究中不太常见。我将使用一系列方法，包括访谈、定量数据分析(例如财务账目、门票/唱片销售)和文化政策调查。第二阶段(3-6年级)通过研究主导的实践(Smith&Dean，2009)建立在此基础上，我试图定义大型爵士乐和即兴合奏的可持续最佳实践模式，我将通过建立和运营一个新的旗舰专业英国小组来测试和完善这一模式，使用与第一阶段类似的方法持续分析和评估。

This multidisciplinary research project emerges from my 14 years' professional involvement with contemporary large ensemble jazz and improvised music across UK, Europe and North America. Addressing key issues within jazz, cultural policy, and media studies, I aim to explore sustainable ecosystems of professional large ensembles, organisations, and infrastructure, and to consider why these are currently relatively lacking in Britain compared to elsewhere in Europe. From the 1960s onwards, the UK was an international hotbed for innovation in jazz and improvised music, with large ensembles particularly prominent e.g. Gibbs, Westbrook, Wheeler, Collier et al (Carr, 1973). However, the disbandment of Loose Tubes (Heining, 2018) and Jazz Warriors (Moore, 2007) in the 1990s marked a notable shift; whilst British jazz today is unarguably as creative as ever (Hutchinson, 2018), there are significantly fewer active larger formations. This has become normalised to the extent that a recently commissioned parliamentary Review Of Jazz In England omitted professional large ensembles entirely within its initial terms of reference (APPJAG, 2021).The classical symphony orchestra and the evolution of its cultural, social, and economic contexts is the focus of much scholarly activity (Botstein, 1996; Flanagan, 2012) yet similar work on the large ensemble within jazz and improvised music is lacking, especially outside of the United States. This project is the first to fully investigate their significance, heritage, and value in the UK and Europe, leading to a greater understanding and appreciation of these ensembles and their relevance to contemporary culture, particularly in the context of questions and challenges facing the wider jazz sector (Raine, 2020; Riley & Laing, 2010).The primary research questions are:a) What is the cultural, social, and economic value of the large jazz and improvising ensemble in the wider cultural landscape?b) What are the cultural and material conditions necessary for a large jazz and improvising ensemble to achieve artistic, economic, commercial, political, social, and environmental success and sustainability?c) How do contemporary large jazz and improvising ensembles currently operate within the UK cultural environment, and how could they operate better? The project's conceptual framework is informed by the work of scholars including Hesmondhalgh (2013; 2019), Cohen (2000; 2013), and Frith (2004; 2008) on cultural policy, value, and heritage. My study contains two phases: the first (years 1-4 of part-time study) seeks to develop initial responses to the questions, through conducting cultural mapping and case studies in an ecological approach increasingly used within Popular Music studies (Behr et al, 2016; van der Hoeven et al, 2021) but currently lesscommon within jazz research. I will use a range of methods including interviews, quantitative data analysis (e.g. financial accounts, ticket/record sales), and cultural policy investigation.The second phase (years 3-6) builds on this through research-led practice (Smith & Dean, 2009) as I attempt to define a model of sustainable best practice for large jazz and improvising ensembles, which I will test and refine through establishing and running a new flagship professional UK group, continuously analysing and evaluating using similar methods to phase 1.