The Genesis and Structure of the Hungarian Jazz Diaspora

In Hungary, jazz was a significant part of debates about race and national music traditions. This book explores the hidden diasporic narratives of Hungarian jazz through the system of distinctions formed by assimilated Jews and Romani musicians. It shows how different concepts of authenticity and conflicting definitions of jazz have resulted in a unique hierarchical setting. The book also examines the transition from café house music to bebop and its significance in the status claims of Romani musicians. It combines cultural sociology, popular music studies, and postcolonial scholarship to demonstrate the manifold connections of this jazz scene to global networks of cultural production.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 186 pages
Publication date: 29 January 2024
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

In Hungary, jazz played a pivotal role in the intense debates ignited by the racialized tensions between national music traditions and the emerging popular culture that challenged the established hierarchies within the cultural landscapes of different historical eras. Conducting an extensive four-year field research project, encompassing ethnographic observations and 29 in-depth interviews, this book emerges as the pioneering exploration into the concealed diasporic narratives of Hungarian jazz. Through the lens of historically established distinctions associated with the social practices of assimilated Jews and Romani musicians, it unveils the hidden threads that connect these musicians to their diasporic heritage.

The chapters presented herein vividly illustrate how diverse concepts of authenticity and divergent definitions of jazz as the musical expression of Western modernity have coalesced to create a distinctive hierarchical landscape. The book's account of the fundamental clash between US-centric mainstream jazz (bebop) and Bartók-inspired free jazz camps not only sheds light on the interconnectedness of traditionalism and modernism with class- and race-based cultural distinctions but also provides critical insights into the social logic of Hungary's geocultural positioning in the "twilight zone between East and West," as coined by Maria Todorova.

Following a historical overview that compares Hungarian jazz to other Central European jazz cultures, the book delves into a rigorous analysis of how the transition from playing "caféhouse music" to bebop became a crucial factor in the status claims of Hungary's "significant others," namely Romani musicians. By seamlessly blending the innovative application of Pierre Bourdieu's cultural sociology with popular music studies and postcolonial scholarship, this work presents a compelling demonstration of the manifold connections of this particular jazz scene to global networks of cultural production.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367677824