ABSTRACT
The social and cultural forces that helped shape American jazz in the past are largely absent today, and have been replaced by the homogenizing effect of the marketplace. Jazz is fighting to be heard among a huge choice of leisure activities competing for the entertainment dollar that were unheard of in Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker's day. The American cultural critic, Frederic Jameson, argues that it is no longer credible to see culture as an ideological representation. The survival of jazz in America has to be seen in the context of today's increasingly complex infrastructure of profit-maximizing multinationals, and a conservative government loathe to support the arts. The chance of American jazz musicians receiving state subsidy appears remote at the very time it is needed most. In many European countries, jazz enjoys a high degree of subsidy. The expectation in Europe is that jazz should continue to evolve and broaden its expressive resources.
