BRUCE JOHNSON

This folder is dedicated to the writings of Professor A J B (Bruce) Johnson, perhaps best-known as the author of the Oxford Companion to Australian jazz (1987). A prolific writer on Australian jazz, his articles on this website already appear in many folders, and in the fulness of time they will hopefully be uploaded to this folder. Click on the INDEX button for a list of articles in this folder.

THE MYTH OF ‘THE CUTTING EDGE'

by Bruce Johnson

JazzChord, May/Jun, 1994

The editor of JazzChord has invited me to open up some debate on the subject of 'the cutting edge' because it is central to discussions of mainstream funding and support for the arts in this country. When words like 'excellence' and 'quality' are deployed in relation to contemporary performance and composition, much is made of music which is at the 'cutting edge'. What it is the edge of, and how the idea of a single edge can define the parameters of a multi-dimensional cultural field, are not disclosed or reflected upon. The purpose of this brief essay is to suggest that it is almost entirely without validity as a way of deciding which among a range of projects is likely to enhance a culture. Like so many putatively objective artistic criteria, it actually functions politically, to consolidate an existing power base…

A DEFENCE OF THE AVANT-GARDE

by Gail Brennan [aka John Clare]

JazzChord, Jul/Aug, 1994

I would like to take up my dialogue with Bruce Johnson, if I may. First, I must say I agree with Bruce absolutely that established or traditional jazz forms should not be ignored in arts funding. As I have already made clear in JazzChord, I believe that it should be a matter of the highest priority to record the Port Jackson Jazz Band and the Yarra Yarra Jazz Band. If I won the lottery I would subsidise these projects myself. These are simply the first projects that come to mind. Nevertheless, I must take issue with Bruce's attitude to the 'avant-garde', and music assumed to be on the 'cutting edge'…

A RESPONSE TO GAIL BRENNAN

by Bruce Johnson

JazzChord, Sep/Oct, 1994

Thanks to Gail Brennan for putting pen to paper (JazzChord, 20, Jul/Aug, 1994). It prompts me to reflect more carefully about what I think and how much more clearly I might have expressed it. Fundamental to the position I am taking is this: jazz is one of the significant sources of musical enrichment for a great many people in Australia. This enrichment is trivialised by sections of the arts bureaucracy. Look at Leo Schofield's explanation of the negligible jazz content of the Melbourne Festival as an example (JazzChord, 20, p 2). This trivialisation is achieved by the construction of various cultural categories. This demeans a great many people, and I would like to question the power base from which such devaluation is conducted...