New York Comes to Groningen: Jazz Star Circuits in the Netherlands

This chapter reflects upon the migrations of jazz stars and students, giving particular attention to one node in this international network: the 'New York Comes to Groningen' programme at the Prins Claus Conservatoire in Groningen. Interviews with participants in the programme document the ideologies cosmopolitan jazz musicians articulate, the virtuosic practices they participate in, the experiences they pursue, and the journeys they undertake. Before a discussion of these interviews, however, it will be useful to introduce four aspects of American jazz history and its mythos that have an ongoing impact upon these musicians: namely the legitimization of jazz, the construction of a jazz canon, the emergence of bebop as a collective, virtuosic jazz practice, and the rise of New York as the centre of a network of jazz stars. As will become evident, the American jazz myth has a great deal of influence upon the reception and careers of contemporary jazz musicians working and travelling in Europe.