Introduction

The question 'what is jazz?' is as old as jazz itself. Heated debates, cultural claiming and appropriation are surrounding this question. At the basis of all writings on the history of jazz, lays the vision and opinion of the author on what jazz is and what it is not. Taking a position is inevitable. Some authors obscure or avoid giving a clear answer to that question. Others make hard and exclusive claims and draw hard demarcations.

Europe

Linguistically, it is correct to call all jazz in Europe 'European Jazz', as long as this term is used as a geographical demarcation. How, where, when and by whom jazz is played: as long as it is played in Europe, it is 'European jazz'. The term 'European Jazz' becomes problematic as soon as it is used to claim it as a special kind of jazz, separate from other jazz. It becomes even more problematic when the term is further sliced up into regions in Europe: e.g., 'Spanish Jazz', Nordic Jazz, Balkan Jazz'.

'World Jazz' and Jazz in the World

Of course, anyone can call any kind of music 'jazz'. Claiming that a certain kind of music is jazz, happens more and more. The 'jazz umbrella' is getting wider and wider. And yes, it is undeniable that jazz started in the USA at the beginning of the 20th century, to be developed into several distinctive styles. New influenced and new players from everywhere, as well as the spreading of jazz around the world, made jazz into a worldwide known music, to public cultural domain. With the flourishing of jazz, the notion of jazz became and is stretched more and more. To put my cards on the table: for me, jazz is jazz when improvisation and swing are the main characteristics, and the lineage to the African American music culture is present, or at least acknowledged.

Various visions

An authority on jazz in Europe, the French musicologist Laurent Cungy, professor at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, wrote an entry about 'Jazz in Europe' in an online encyclopedia called 'The Digital Encyclopedia of European Culture'. He has published many articles and books, but this entry sums up his ideas and visions on European Jazz. It is clear that he struggles with the question if there is such a thing as 'European Jazz' or that there is only one genre called jazz, that is also apparent in Europe. Rightly so, he puts a question mark at the sub-entry 'European Jazz?'. That part of the entry proudly presents all the important achievements of jazz musicians from Europe. However, Cugny does not answer and obscures the question, if European Jazz is a separate genre of jazz or just a part of a bigger whole.

Link to the article of Laurent Cungy in. the EHNE:

https://ehne.fr/en/encyclopedia/themes/arts-in-europe/art-europe-challenged-other/jazz-in-europe