International Jazz Scenes

[pemeyers]

My name is Peter Meyers, I'm a student at Davidson College in North Carolina, USA. I'm currently writing a proposal to study the opportunities for young people to learn and play jazz outside the US. I'd like to look at the instruction they receive, how the schools fund such programs, what the overall state of jazz is in these places, and what effect playing and learning music has on the performace of these students. If anyone is located in Paris, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Prague, Havanna, Bali, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo, Bangkok and is involved with jazz (or general music) education (or a musician and can comment on the popularity of jazz in these places) and would like to help me in this research opportunity I would GREATLY appreciate it. Thank you.

Peter Meyers

[Lois Gilbert]

If you would be so kind please help Peter out

[Richardo Caerleoni]

Peter - Denmark (and Sweden) had and has a very long jazz history, particularly post war (the last one..WWII!) ....Just about everyone played or lived here from Stan Getz to Eric Dolphy...Dexter was a resident.

What do you want to know? Just general background stuff or profiles?

There is a festival every year in 'hagen... Has it's own website.This year fronted by Ahmad Jamal....also the Danish Radio band which has had Miles, Thad Jones, George Russell, Bob Brookmeyer, Don Cherry et al play/or write for it.

Also there is a Danish jazz website (in Danish and in English ) - that will give you all the links, clubs, musicians etc...

There is a Danish Jazz yearbook which would give the historic and current background? Plus, some great photographs and "memories"...if you want the address for this, let me know?

Denmark is very "jazz"!

DANISH JAZZ LINK - History, Musicians, Education, Clubs etc.

[Bluebrew]

Barcelona Spain is a hotbed of Jazz for decades. The home of pianist Tete Monteliu among others. They have a great school there called "Taller de Musics". Write to

escola@tallerdemusics.com

They also have a web page with English translation

www.tallerdemusics.com

[kenny weir]

Whoooo - this looks Celebrate Homegrown Week!

Peter, Australia, too, has a thriving jazz scene. I'm most familiar with Melbourne, where the Victorian College of the Arts keeps on turning 'em out, a jazz festival is prospering, PBS has heaps of radio shows (inlcuding my own), a couple of labels operate and there are several clubs and many other non-jazz-specific venues. The state of Victoria is also home to the forthcoming Wangaratta Jazz Festival.

There is a similar deal in Sydney, with lesser but nevertheless significant activity in Perth, Brisbane and even Tasmania.

I'll probably not have time to give you much more in the way of in-depth help/info, so ...

My suggestion is you post what you've posted here on ozjazzforum bulletin board run by Sydney pianist Mark Isaacs. It's like JC's Speakeasy, but not nearly as active - but there are heaps of lurkers!

(I can't post a link there to this thread because of the JC software.)

Here it is: http://www.talk.to/ozjazzforum

Good luck!

[JaSt]

When in Stockholm, Sweden, drop in at Glenn Miller Café - "The JazzCorner of Europe"!

[yardbird]

It seems to me you want some exact info on jazz education. I can't give you details on all Scandinavia,
but I know Norway has at least three conservatories (university level) teaching jazz, among them the quite famous one in Trondheim. I guess you'll have to contact the national jazz associations in each country to get exact details on funding etc - for Norway you can click into
www.jazzforum.no and take it from there.

[Pete C]

Beyond education per se, I think the system of state-supported jazz orchestras throught Europe is an important supportant support system that should be considered.

[JazzJunkie]

Originally Posted by Pete C

Beyond education per se, I think the system of state-supported jazz orchestras throught Europe is an important supportant support system that should be considered.

Pete, is that the deal with Canada, too? Or more specifically, I've heard proprietors of most of the Canadian fests say things to the effect of "...can't hire many non-Canadian groups because we don't get funding for that..." Are their festivals state/gov funded?

[mke]

Originally Posted by Pete C

Beyond education per se, I think the system of state-supported jazz orchestras throught Europe is an important supportant support system that should be considered.

Not always as healthy as it could be...

The Brussels Jazz Orchestra, the country's only world-class big band, lost a lot of its subsidies.

Are there really very many subsidised big bands in France? There's the Orchestre National de Jazz, and that's it, no?

[Pete C]

There are the great German radio big bands (WDR & NDR, HR being a lesser one), and that odd one in northern Sweden that Tim Hagans directs, among others.