Written evidence submitted by Dr Sarah Raine (MiM0010)

Scottish Jazz and Blues Research Project (Oct 2018-Oct 2022)

 

The following data was gathered and analysed by Dr Sarah Raine (University of Limerick / Edinburgh Napier University) and Professor Haftor Medbøe (Edinburgh Napier University) over three years of a PLACE (Scottish Government) funded project in partnership with Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival. This research aimed to document and report on the state of the Scottish jazz and blues scenes and to provide recommendations for the sector’s development. This research was undertaken from October 2018 until summer 2022 and captured the pandemic experience of Scottish jazz and blues stakeholders.

 

A full report on this research will be available on the Scottish Jazz Archive website from Autumn 2022.

 

The insights that follow are based upon data gathered during interviews, online surveys, virtual focus groups, and stakeholder meetings which were undertaken in person in October 2019 and February 2020, and virtually in December 2021 and February 2022. Thirty-five interviews were undertaken with musicians, festival professionals and promoters, jazz educators, and funders in person in late 2019/early 2020 and then virtually as the national lockdowns commenced. Musician surveys were circulated, via online platforms, in April 2020 (5 respondents) and March 2021 (17 respondents). Finally, notes from three virtual focus groups and the four stakeholder meetings also contributed to our findings and final recommendations. All names provided within this document are pseudonyms unless otherwise stated. Pronouns and age have also been included in order to provide an intersectional insight into the issues facing the contemporary Scottish jazz and blues scenes.

 

We have included below data relevant to this Call for Evidence.

 

 

Musicians

In particular, women musicians interviewed argued that the Scottish jazz scene was “cliquey”, competitive and unsupportive. It is very likely that this shared gendered response is due to these women working within a male dominated music scene. All of the women interviewed, most of the men musicians, and participants in the jazz education focus groups (see Jazz Education) noted a significant and pervasive gender imbalance within the Scottish jazz scene. As Craig (40s) stated, “A significant issue is that of gender parity in the jazz scene, which is way worse than many other music scenes… Certainly in Scotland.” The reasons for this gender imbalance are very complex and would require significant additional research to fully address. In relation at this point in the research project, the following insights are relevant.

 

Musicians irrespective of gender are very aware of the underrepresentation of women and the damage that this does to the scene. At a very basic level, half a potential musician/industry professional/audience pool is being lost. On a more experiential level, women musicians are having to navigate their careers as a minority group, experiencing gendered barriers, and are not benefitting from the homosocial networks that dominate UK jazz scenes. Musicians irrespective of gender and generation stated that they are attempting to address this imbalance through 50/50 bands, teaching and mentoring. However, they do not feel that Scottish promoters, festivals or funding bodies are playing a role in this. Even though Glasgow Jazz Festival has signed up to the Keychange initiative, the festival’s support of women-fronted bands was seen by Helen (40s) as tokenistic and short-term. Once again, this had led to a lack of musician trust in promoters, festivals, and funding bodies, and a renewed reliance upon musician-led initiatives. However, these attempts are significantly limited by the funding, reach and skills of the individual musicians. As Maggie (40s) argues:

 

“Taking the gender imbalance seriously requires change. Festivals, promoters, agents, universities want to be more diverse, but they don’t want to change the system. They don’t want to talk about the gender imbalance because they don’t want to change a system that benefits them.”

 

 

Gender and Jazz Education in Scotland

Beyond curriculum and pedagogy, the importance of role models was also noted. This was positioned by several individuals as essential to jazz educational activities and accessing young people (as future audiences and industry professionals). For example, the opportunity to perform with high-level older jazz musicians was identified as a key means to inspire young musicians to pursue their jazz education beyond school. Equally, focus group participants noted several younger pupils who had been inspired by popular jazz-inspired bands to join a youth orchestra and to further their engagement with jazz. However, this access to jazz-related music and the term “jazz” itself was noted as a significant barrier. One focus group participant had rebranded jazz as “musical creativity” in order to avoid teacher reservations, and many individuals stated that the general disinterest of pupils was related to a lack of visibility of young jazz bands in the media. In particular young and female (discussed below) role models were viewed as essential to encouraging young talent.

 

Roary (a private tutor and musician in his 30s) noted that many of the younger (under 18) musicians are generally coming through to jazz specific courses or jazz tuition by playing jazz rhythms. These pupils often attend festivals (which are family friendly) but voice a desire to attend gigs, many of which are inaccessible to those under 18 as they are often in pubs. This is echoed by Craig (musician and educator), who states that “a lot of jazz happens where children can’t go – it is equally hard for them to perform and to attend as an audience member”. National and local jazz orchestras offer a potential pathway for pupils keen to develop their experience, however this is not always visible or accessible to all. With the poor levels of formal jazz education provision in Scotland, pupils must rely upon private tuition (which must be paid for) and informal educational offerings (which must be visible). Pupils from more affluent and engaged family backgrounds in areas with jazz activities are therefore more likely to develop their skills.

 

“What we’ve found is that there is a good gender balance until a particular age – around 16 and 17 it becomes male dominated. I aim for 50/50, but generally get around a third women, who have played all instruments over the years, but some instruments seem gendered. There are girls that want to play jazz… but when it gets serious, we see a change. It’s too late at the conservatoire stage [which tend to be heavily male dominated] we need to make jazz appeal.” – representative from NYOS

 

All of the focus group participants (in both sessions) highlighted the gender imbalance of the Scottish scene as a significant issue. This was starkly reflected in male-heavy HE jazz course cohorts (this is evident in conservatoires nationwide) and national jazz organisations, such as the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra (SNJO). Another shared insight was a noticeable drop-off point of girls who had previously been engaged in jazz music education. This drop-off point (at the point when pupils are expected to make choices regarding their subjects – GCSE and A Level) was articulated in an interview with Maggie. An established musician in her 40s who has worked with schools for many years, Maggie reflected upon her experience:

 

“I was really shocked that as I remembered each girl, I remembered that they were doing amazing things and full of confidence when I had taught them earlier in their education. Now eighty percent of girls in that class were subdued, not smiling as much, not willing to engage as much and not willing to take risks. I asked ‘What has happened in the last two years?’ This class included some rather boisterous boys. My experience of teaching HE is that no matter how much I try to be a role model, particularly for my female students… my experience repeatedly is that my male students who were not necessarily as good as my female student, they went on to do performance related things. And not one as my female students did. If I look at a scene and it’s all boy bands, and I don’t feel interested in engaging with that type of scene, I wonder how they feel.”

 

Participants within the jazz education discussion groups and those interviewed offered a range of potential reasons for this. Ben (a musician and educator) wondered whether this was something to do with the perceived image and lifestyle of jazz musicians, and that this is less appealing to women students. This was echoed in an interview with Nick (musician and educator, 30s) who highlighted the impact of parental guidance (away from jazz) and a desire for stability. Furthermore, those students who did go on to study jazz, did so outside of Scotland, suggesting that this may be something to do with their perception of the Scottish jazz scene (see Musician section) and music provision in particular. Academic research (such as McDonald and Wilson (2005; 2006), Umney and Kretsos (2015) and Umney (2016)) have termed life the “jazz life”, an experience typified by low income, high musical value, and precarity. Equally, they too have suggested that women musicians are less likely to dedicate themselves to such a career. However, this requires further investigation. Ben also highlights the early gendering of instruments, genres and approaches to performance at home and at school, much before any understanding of the jazz scene and musician experience. Daniel (musician in his 50s) notes that a lack of women students means a lack of women musicians both feeding into the scene and filling teaching posts. Whilst this was raised by other focus group participants as a significant issue, Maggie’s quote notes that a female role model in teaching roles is not always enough to address this pervasive issue. As we saw in the Musician section of this report, musicians have attempted to address the lack of women in the scene (and female jazz students) through gender balanced bands/projects and all-female collectives, offering role models on venue and festival stages.

 

Educational provisions for women students and the showcasing of women musicians in Scotland has been attempted, and the perceived impact of this amongst the participants of this research varied. Fife Jazz Orchestra and the adult jazz summer schools were reported as having “a good gender balance”. A representative from SYJO stated that the gender balance of the scene was “getting better”, suggesting that the fronting of women players (as soloists or band players) has been important in changing the general perception of jazz as a male genre and scene. However, from a grassroots perspective, musicians disagreed with this. Luke (well-established musician in his 50s) argued that “The situation has not really moved in ten years at all, female instrumentalists are at the same low level”, noting low levels of confidence amongst younger female players to engage with jam sessions or to take on solo opportunities. This leads to increased difficulties for gatekeepers within the scene in spotting emerging women instrumentalists. As an established women instrumentalist who works across genres, Maggie (40s) argued that, rather than improving, she had seen the situation get worse recently, asking “should we be doing improvisation workshops for girls?” Reflecting upon his experience at school and HE level, Craig (40s) suggests that gender-focused interventions need to begin at Primary and early Secondary level education, with all children receiving a more structured jazz education at school. He used the London jazz scene as an example of an increasing gender balance amongst younger musicians. In previous projects, it was clear that the socially aware and intellectually critical approach of Tomorrow’s Warriors produces a learning space within which issues of access and diversity are actively debated by the team and participants.

July 2022