IASJ Journal of Applied Jazz Research
In collaboration with the Grand Valley University Library Press, the IASJ publishes the online 'IASJ Journal of Applied Jazz Research'. Volume 1, published in November 2023, contains 12 articles. The monthly average download per month is about 100. Apparently, there is a clear need for the 'IASJ Research Journal'.
Applied Jazz Research?
'Scientific research' characterized by many footnotes, quotes, huge literature lists, and sometimes vague neologies, blind reviewed by anonymous experts, claims to be the only true type of research. However, for jazz, this type might work for some time but not all the time. What often, if not always, is missed by 'scientific research' is the direct link to the practice, the applicability, the direct use of the content. Furthermore, the blind review system is outdated, and in numerous instances corrupted.
'Applied jazz research' aims to promote, support and develop jazz research that has a direct connection to jazz performance and jazz education. Applied jazz research is fed by, as well as feeding, jazz performance and education. The three, performance, education and research, are intertwined, the angles that reinforce each other. The IASJ Reach Journal is the platform for this dynamic.
History of Jazz Research in the IASJ
In the 1990s, during the Ongoing Dialogues at IASJ Jazz Meetings, 'applied jazz research' was at the core of many, if not all presentations and discussions. In 2003, in The Hague, The Netherlands, the 1st IASJ Research Conference took place. Jamey Aebersold was the keynote speaker, explaining how young and fragile jazz research was at that moment. In 2010, the 2nd IASJ Research Conference took place in Corfu, Greece, where Gunther Schuller held a keynote explaining the progress made as well as the challenges of jazz research. In 2015, during the Ongoing Dialogues of the IASJ Jazz Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, suggested developing the 'IASJ Research Journal'. The online 2021 IASJ Jazz Research Conference supplied the basis for the publication of the first IASJ Research Journal in 2022. Next, the 2023 IASJ Research Conference in Graz, Austria took place in November 2023.