ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes how Azerbaijani jazz is interpreted and used by average city dwellers to meet personal goals, including strengthening their social or economic position. A number of studies on the topic of nationalism, even those which examine the emotional and quasi-religious aspects of nationalism, prefer to write off formal practices and symbols without considering how they are perceived by citizens. The chapter provides a brief history of the jazz development in Azerbaijan. Touching on the issue of top-down popularization of jazz in the USSR, it engages with the statement on teleological politicization of the musical phenomenon. The chapter gives some characteristics of free jazz movements in the first years of existence of independent Azerbaijan, and elaborates on how the musical tendency came under the control of formal institutions. It concentrates on jazz performances as seemingly free from national ideology, and explains why the phenomenon plays such a crucial role in building national identity.
