Collectivities, Cosmopolitanisms and Mixed-Mediations in Amsterdam's Crossover Jazz Scene

In this chapter, I adopt perspectives and methods from the fields of ethnomusicology, sociology, and historiography to examine Amsterdam's contemporary crossover jazz scene. Based on interviews with participants of the Blue Not Trip series as well as observations of local performances and recordings, I address the performative, social, and hyper-mediated format through which fans, programmers, and musicians interact in ways invigorating more traditional forms of sociality. I've chosen this series because of the kinds of musical collectivism fostered by both musicians and event promoters and participants. Increasingly, cosmopolitan collectivities disrupt traditional binaries within the industry (such as majors versus independents, men versus women, acoustic versus electronic) and diminish distinctions between professional and amateur music worlds. Popular music scholars have long distinguished the inner workings of the "Majors" from the "Indies," yet scholars such as Negus have complicated such facile divisions by depicting the music industry as a "web of working practices, dialogues and articulated relationships" (Negus 1992, 153). Within the popular music field, these collectives also draw upon a larger body of arts and music participants than those historically represented by star groups, previously epitomized by the four member rock band, with its specialize instrumentalists branded by a slew of music industry professionals.