Jazz in 1950s Strait Street : history, repertoire, and legacy

Abstract

This study will aim to identify, evaluate, and interpret various aspects of the history, repertoire and legacy of the jazz culture in 1950s Strait Street. It will aim to identify key points in the historical context of this music culture and consider how these points added to the development thereof. Moreover, the study will survey the presence of jazz in 1950s Strait Street and will consider the context and function thereof. In addition, this study will evaluate the impact and legacy of this music culture, especially in terms of any potential applications of this repertoire in my repertoire and work as an artist and in contemporary jazz culture in Malta. This study will contribute to the body of knowledge on the existence, function and development of jazz in 1950s Strait Street. Furthermore, this study will help to address the existing lack of critical investigation on the presence of jazz in this music culture and on various meanings which this music carried within its music culture. Finally, this study will evaluate the impact and legacy of this music scene on contemporary jazz culture in Malta. Inspired by perspectives branching into historical ethnomusicology I have carried out research through the ethnographic findings and insights of others filtered through my own insights as a part of the music culture whose history I am researching. Moreover, I have carried out research through interviews and transcriptions of interviews, through historical and archival sources, such as historical recordings, and through relevant literature. Strait Street functioned like a colleague of jazz in Malta in the 1950s in which international exchange and influence contributed to the development of the local jazz scene. This music culture featured several examples of jazz repertoire which were, and are, assigned meaning through notions of function and perceptions of genre classifications. The history and repertoire of the jazz culture of 1950s Strait Street offers a significant legacy which is relevant and influential to contemporary Maltese society in multiple ways. The legacy from the jazz culture which developed in the 1950s has in various ways affected the national popular music culture and jazz scene in subsequent years. Moreover, this music culture produced important musical material which includes, the building of a repertoire which is partially still performed today, and the creation of original compositions which apart from being part of Malta’s heritage has many potential applications in today’s jazz scene.