Jazz and nation in Australian cinema: from silents to sound

Johnson, B. (2009) Jazz and nation in Australian cinema: from silents to sound. NFSA Journal: Journal of the National Film and Sound Archive, Australia, 4(1), pp. 1-12.

Abstract

This article grows most immediately out of the Scholars and Artists in Residence (SAR) Fellowship held at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) in October/November 2008, investigating the relationship between the history of Australian jazz and the formation of Australian identity. At that stage of the work-in-progress the primary source material was moving image and related materials such as shooting scripts, stills and promotional items. Around 60 moving image items were examined, 1 including feature films, newsreels and documentaries, as well as printed materials such as shooting scripts and treatments, covering the years 1919 to 2008. The broader background to this work was a professional interest in cultural history as an acoustic field, the particular example of music, jazz and especially its diasporic forms, and most specifically the deep interest in Australian jazz of a longtime active performer, and in policy development and administration. The research is continuing (including through a follow-up SAR Fellowship for 2009), with reference to other forms of primary material such as sound recordings and sleeve notes, memoirs, interviews, reviews and promotional material. This interim account of the negotiation between Australian jazz and discourses of nation confines itself to film and moving image.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Johnson, Professor Bruce
• Authors: Johnson, B.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Music
• Journal Name: NFSA Journal: Journal of the National Film and Sound Archive, Australia
• ISSN: 1834-0970