The jazz worker: Creative musicians in times of crisis

The Project Demonstrating Excellence, THE JAZZ WORKER: CREATIVE MUSICIANS IN TIMES OF CRISIS, is an interdisciplinary study of creative musicians performing Jazz from 1980 to 1994 in New York City. The project employs the method of site visits and interviews to collect data that provides the basis for understanding the political economy of Jazz as social history. The project fills a gap in the study of the Jazz Worker, i.e., in how creative musicians survived the struggles of creative laborers during the period mentioned. This social history demonstrates how the political economy of Jazz created tremendous odds for creative musicians during a period of temporary economic decline for Jazz in New York City. This study is relevant here in that it seeks to probe the lives and works of these artists by hearing their own words about life as musicians during the period discussed. The context within which this discussion is framed is in the domain of creative labor, and how this labor sustains the musician in times of economic, and other personal hardships and difficulties. A primary question of this project is "what attracts a musician to Jazz when there are very few artists who ever reach positions of economic affluence?" A questionnaire as part of the interviews with musicians site visits to night clubs and other music forums provide answers to this question. The results are given and discussed, a conclusion is drawn, then recommendations are offered for musicians and aficionados. The work brings the Jazz Workers to center stage of historical analysis by focusing on them as people who work (perform) as creative laborers.