Artistic Research in Jazz

This book presents the recent positions, theories, and methods of artistic research in jazz, inviting readers to critically engage in and establish a sustained discourse regarding theoretical, methodological, and analytic perspectives.

A panel of eleven international contributors presents an in-depth discourse on shared and specific approaches to artistic research in jazz, aiming at an understanding of the specificity of current practices, both improvisational and composed. The topics addressed throughout consider the cultural, institutional, epistemological, philosophical, ethical, and practical aspects of the discipline, as well as the influence of race, gender, and politics. The book is structured in three parts: first, on topics related to improvisation, theory and history; second, on institutional and pedagogical positions; and third, on methodical approaches in four specific research projects conducted by the authors.

In thinking outside established theoretical frameworks, this book invites further exploration and participation, and encourages practitioners, scholars, students, and teachers at all academic levels to shape the future of artistic research collectively. It will be of interest to students in jazz and popular music studies, performance studies, improvisation studies, music philosophy, music aesthetics, and Western art music research.

Author Biography

Michael Kahr is Senior Lecturer at the Institute for Jazz at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Austria as well as Dean of Music Faculty and Head of Master Studies at the Jam Music Lab University in Vienna, Austria.