Aesthetic claims to power in jazz in the face of its economic threat from rock music in the years 1966 to 1972

Abstract

The article investigates the reception of jazzrock during its consolidation period from 1966 to 1972 by reference to jazz journalists, jazz historians as well as jazz(rock) mu­sicians. The author applies critical discourse analysis in order to shed light on cultural policy issues of different actors within the jazz scene and to understand how authority on musical aesthetics is claimed and communicated. The selected source material consists of music magazines and jazz history writings. In addition, two case stu­dies on the British jazzrock bands Nucleus and Soft Machine illuminate how musi­cians negotiate their aesthetic choices in public. These examples reveal reactions and strategies that disclose the authoritative reception in both jour­nalist and aca­demic discourse.
The results show how appreciation and devaluation of jazzrock are connected to societal positioning within the jazz scene during the 1960s. They further display how critics and historians lend weight to their respective perspectives by selectively quoting musicians and by passing of aesthetic judgment as fact–based evidence. The author concludes that they educate readers by presenting themselves as represent­atives of musicians and at the same time influencing the latter in aesthetic guide­lines.