ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses why social network analysis is so useful for the study of jazz worlds. Drawing on network data extracted from an important directory of British jazz musicians, it examines the structure of the British jazz network, in particular the value of different indicators illustrating the position of bandleaders and sidemen. The results from the two-stage analysis are apparently fragile but suggestive of 'optimal marginality' the more successful were less likely to be highly central, and have links with a diverse group of musicians. Jazz discographies and directories offer immense opportunities for primary data collection and subsequent analysis, for example with regard to the analysis of communities within the wider network and their association with distinct styles, the position of female jazz musicians and the introduction of temporal and spatial information. Social and musical connections help turn raw talent into professional ability; they generate the norms which govern effective musicianship, the tacit knowledge which sets high musical standards.
