Jazz Britannia
mediating the story of British jazz on television
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jazz.v3i2.145Keywords:
Jazz Britannia, jazz history, Ken Burns, public service broadcasting, quality television, television historyAbstract
Jazz Britannia is a UK-produced three-part BBC television documentary about the post-war development of jazz in the United Kingdom. We analyse the programmes to examine how the narrative, form and assumptions of the series can be understood within a series of contextual debates about jazz historiography, history on television, and the value of historiographic method in public service television. We utilize the debates around Ken Burns’s US-produced ten-part documentary series Jazz, to develop an argument about the way that the British documentary constructs a very different history from Jazz, but using many of the approaches and techniques deployed by Burns. We locate the series within questions of quality television and other forms of television history. Finally, we seek to explore the way that the programmes produce a totalizing narrative in which the primary material is ordered to tell a predetermined story about innovations and an identifiably British form of jazz.
References
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Aitkin, I., ed. (1998) The Documentary Film Movement: An Anthology. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
BARB (Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board) (2005) ‘New Media Markets’. February 11.
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——(2005) ‘Jazz Britannia web page’. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/features/jazz-brit-index.shtml
——(2009) ‘BBC Four’. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/faq/ (accessed July 28, 2009).
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Brunsdon, C. (1997) Screen Tastes: Soap Opera to Satellite Dishes. London: Routledge.
Burns, K. (2001) Jazz—A Film by Ken Burns. Public Broadcasting Service.
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Carr, I. (2008 [1973]) Music Outside: Contemporary Jazz in Britain. London: Latimer New Dimensions.
Crouch, S. (2006) Considering Genius: Writings on Jazz. New York: Basic Civitas Books.
DeVeaux, S. K. (1991) ‘Constructing the Jazz Tradition: Jazz Historiography’. Black American Literature Forum (Autumn): 525–60. doi:10.2307/3041812
—(1997) The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Edgerton, G. R. (1997) ‘Mystic Chords of Memory: The Cultural Voice of Ken Burns’. In In the Eye of the Beholder: Critical Perspectives in Popular Film and Television, ed. G. R. Edgerton, M. T. Marsden and J. Nachbar, 11–26. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press.
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Frith, S. (2002) ‘Look! Hear! The Uneasy Relationship of Music and Television’. Popular Music 21(3): 277–90. doi:10.1017/S0261143002002180
Gabbard, K. (1995a) Jazz among the Discourses. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
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Gennari, J. (2006) Blowin’ Hot and Cool: Jazz and its Critics. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
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—(2005 [1986]) A History of Jazz in Britain 1919–50. London: Paladin/Northway.
—(1989) A History of Jazz in Britain 1950–70. London: Quartet Books.
Green, B. (1965) Liner notes to Jazz suite inspired by Dylan Thomas’s ‘Under Milk Wood’. EMI 33SX1774.
Hobsbawm, E. J. (1989 [1959]) The Jazz Scene. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Hodgkinson, W. (2005) ‘Watch This’. The Guide, Television, The Guardian. 22 January: 95.
Hutcheon, L. (1989) The Politics of Postmodernism. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203426050
McCabe, J., and K. Akass, eds (2007) Quality TV: Contemporary American Television and Beyond. London: I.B. Tauris.
McKay, G. (2005) Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Monson, I. T. (2007) Freedom Sounds: Civil Rights Call out to Jazz and Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Moore, H. (2007) Inside British Jazz: Crossing Borders of Race, Nation and Class. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Morley, P. (2005) ‘Music on TV: Freestyle Fellowship: Jazz can be cutting-edge or it can be merely cosy.’ Observer Music Monthly 20 February: 53.
Murray, A. (1976) Stomping the Blues. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Music Week (2005) ‘The Insider: BBC 4’. Music Week. August 13.
Newton, F. (1959). The Jazz Scene. London: MacGibbon & Kee.
Parsonage, C. (2005) The Evolution of Jazz in Britain, 1880–1935. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Rasula, J. (1995) ‘The Media of Memory: The Seductive Menace of Records in Jazz History’. In Jazz among the Discourses, ed. K. Gabbard, 134–62. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Samuel, R., A. Light, et al. (1998) Island Stories: Unravelling Britain. London and New York: Verso.
Sarup, M. (1993) An Introductory Guide to Post-structuralism and Post-modernism. New York and London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Scannell, P. (1981) ‘Music for the Multitude? The Dilemmas of the BBC Music Policy 1923–46’. Media, Culture and Society 8(4): 135–66.
Stanbridge, A. (2004) ‘Burns, Baby Burns: Jazz History as a Contested Cultural Site’. The Source 1(1): 82–95.
Swann, P. (1989) The British Documentary Film Movement, 1926–1946. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Toplin, R. B. (1996) Ken Burns’s The Civil War: Historians Respond. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wall, T. (2003) Studying Popular Music Culture. London: Arnold.
Wall, T., and A. Dubber (2009) Specialist Music Fans Online: Implications for Public Service Broadcasting. Birmingham City University; Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Ward, G. C., and K. Burns (2000) Jazz: A History of America’s Music. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Wickes, J. (1999) Innovations in British Jazz. Volume One, 1960–1980. Chelmsford: Soundworld.
Williams, R. (2005) ‘Can you Dig It?: It was Music’s Loss but Potato-picking’s Gain’. The Guardian, G2: Arts, 24 January: 14.
Aitkin, I., ed. (1998) The Documentary Film Movement: An Anthology. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
BARB (Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board) (2005) ‘New Media Markets’. February 11.
BBC (British Broadcasting Corpration) (2004) ‘Profile of Janice Hadlow’ [Controller of BBC Four from 2004–2008]. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/biographies/biogs/controllers/janicehadlow.shtml (accessed September 28, 2009).
——(2005) ‘Jazz Britannia web page’. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/features/jazz-brit-index.shtml
——(2009) ‘BBC Four’. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/faq/ (accessed July 28, 2009).
Black, J. (2005) Using History. London and New York: Hodder Arnold.
Boulton, D. (1958) Jazz in Britain. London: W. H. Allen.
Brunsdon, C. (1997) Screen Tastes: Soap Opera to Satellite Dishes. London: Routledge.
Burns, K. (2001) Jazz—A Film by Ken Burns. Public Broadcasting Service.
Byrnes, S. (2007) ‘Jazz, Jazz Everywhere...But Not on Television’. The Independent, 30 April.
Carr, I. (2008 [1973]) Music Outside: Contemporary Jazz in Britain. London: Latimer New Dimensions.
Crouch, S. (2006) Considering Genius: Writings on Jazz. New York: Basic Civitas Books.
DeVeaux, S. K. (1991) ‘Constructing the Jazz Tradition: Jazz Historiography’. Black American Literature Forum (Autumn): 525–60. doi:10.2307/3041812
—(1997) The Birth of Bebop: A Social and Musical History. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Edgerton, G. R. (1997) ‘Mystic Chords of Memory: The Cultural Voice of Ken Burns’. In In the Eye of the Beholder: Critical Perspectives in Popular Film and Television, ed. G. R. Edgerton, M. T. Marsden and J. Nachbar, 11–26. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State University Popular Press.
Ellen, M. (2008) ‘The Difficult Business of Putting Music on the TV: A Conversation with the BBC’s Mark Cooper’. The Word. http://www.wordmagazine.co.uk/content/difficult-business-putting-music-tv-conversation-bbc039s-mark-cooper.
Feuer, J. (2007) ‘HBO and the Concept of Quality TV’. In Quality TV: Contemporary American Television and Beyond, ed. J. McCabe and K. Akass, 145–57. London: I.B. Tauris.
Frith, S. (2002) ‘Look! Hear! The Uneasy Relationship of Music and Television’. Popular Music 21(3): 277–90. doi:10.1017/S0261143002002180
Gabbard, K. (1995a) Jazz among the Discourses. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Gabbard, K. (1995b) ‘The Jazz Canon and its Consequences’. In Jazz among the Discourses, ed. K. Gabbard, 1–28. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Gennari, J. (2006) Blowin’ Hot and Cool: Jazz and its Critics. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
Godbolt, J. (1986) A History of Jazz in Britain 1919–50. London: Paladin.
—(2005 [1986]) A History of Jazz in Britain 1919–50. London: Paladin/Northway.
—(1989) A History of Jazz in Britain 1950–70. London: Quartet Books.
Green, B. (1965) Liner notes to Jazz suite inspired by Dylan Thomas’s ‘Under Milk Wood’. EMI 33SX1774.
Hobsbawm, E. J. (1989 [1959]) The Jazz Scene. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Hodgkinson, W. (2005) ‘Watch This’. The Guide, Television, The Guardian. 22 January: 95.
Hutcheon, L. (1989) The Politics of Postmodernism. London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203426050
McCabe, J., and K. Akass, eds (2007) Quality TV: Contemporary American Television and Beyond. London: I.B. Tauris.
McKay, G. (2005) Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Monson, I. T. (2007) Freedom Sounds: Civil Rights Call out to Jazz and Africa. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Moore, H. (2007) Inside British Jazz: Crossing Borders of Race, Nation and Class. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Morley, P. (2005) ‘Music on TV: Freestyle Fellowship: Jazz can be cutting-edge or it can be merely cosy.’ Observer Music Monthly 20 February: 53.
Murray, A. (1976) Stomping the Blues. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Music Week (2005) ‘The Insider: BBC 4’. Music Week. August 13.
Newton, F. (1959). The Jazz Scene. London: MacGibbon & Kee.
Parsonage, C. (2005) The Evolution of Jazz in Britain, 1880–1935. Aldershot: Ashgate.
Rasula, J. (1995) ‘The Media of Memory: The Seductive Menace of Records in Jazz History’. In Jazz among the Discourses, ed. K. Gabbard, 134–62. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Samuel, R., A. Light, et al. (1998) Island Stories: Unravelling Britain. London and New York: Verso.
Sarup, M. (1993) An Introductory Guide to Post-structuralism and Post-modernism. New York and London: Harvester Wheatsheaf.
Scannell, P. (1981) ‘Music for the Multitude? The Dilemmas of the BBC Music Policy 1923–46’. Media, Culture and Society 8(4): 135–66.
Stanbridge, A. (2004) ‘Burns, Baby Burns: Jazz History as a Contested Cultural Site’. The Source 1(1): 82–95.
Swann, P. (1989) The British Documentary Film Movement, 1926–1946. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Toplin, R. B. (1996) Ken Burns’s The Civil War: Historians Respond. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wall, T. (2003) Studying Popular Music Culture. London: Arnold.
Wall, T., and A. Dubber (2009) Specialist Music Fans Online: Implications for Public Service Broadcasting. Birmingham City University; Arts and Humanities Research Council.
Ward, G. C., and K. Burns (2000) Jazz: A History of America’s Music. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Wickes, J. (1999) Innovations in British Jazz. Volume One, 1960–1980. Chelmsford: Soundworld.
Williams, R. (2005) ‘Can you Dig It?: It was Music’s Loss but Potato-picking’s Gain’. The Guardian, G2: Arts, 24 January: 14.
Published
2010-09-03
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Wall, T., & Long, P. (2010). Jazz Britannia: mediating the story of British jazz on television. Jazz Research Journal, 3(2), 145-170. https://doi.org/10.1558/jazz.v3i2.145
