Jazz Research in Belgium and The Netherlands

Friday 12 November 3pm CET

In Europe, in the first two decades of the 21st century, with the implementation of the BA-MA-structure (bachelor- master study) the norms and regulations were set on how research should be done at academies and conservatories. The AEC, the Association of European Conservatories distributed 'handbooks', and various accreditation organizations such as the Dutch Flemish Accreditation Committee, send out 'specialists' to academies and conservatories in order to check and rate how among others research was done. Also for jazz department research became a new element in the curriculum.

Although existing research models mainly taken form universities were taken as point of departure, soon it became apparent that artistic research, research in the arts, research through the arts, needed an approach of its own. The generic term became: 'practice based research'. New element was the view that the artist or musician could take him or herself as object of research.

As with every change, some resistance against research in higher jazz education occurred. Within soon, jazz research done by master students at conservatories ranked among the best. Research results weer for a large part published in the Research Catalogue, a growing database supported by a growing number of institutions.