Johnson/Antipodean Riffs, 5. Cuba Street Parade: Identity, Authenticity and Self-Expression in Contemporary Australasian Jazz Scenes

While jazz has developed into a global artform, its history (and much of its present) remain bound to activity in the US. Jazz musicians in Australia and New Zealand must negotiate the tension between normative expression via an adopted artform, and expression of their own identities as contemporary New Zealanders and Australians, through the discarding of convention in order to achieve greater integrity of expression. Through interviews with musicians from the (multiple) scenes in Melbourne and Wellington, various perspectives are considered. The influence of jazz education, and the notion of national style are also discussed.