ABSTRACT
This chapter reveals the case studies of jazz in Nanjing and Suzhou, which enclose centrally located yet relatively overlooked jazz activities. Through an overview of ethnographic observations and interviews with local musicians, it unveils major and minor jazz happenings in these cities, such as the Nanjing International Jazz and World Music Festival and the bands of Jinling Dragon and Suzhou Sim. This chapter further explores the factors involved in the development process of these two jazz scenes and the various cultural and educational aspects that tend to hold their expansion. For example, it reveals the conflict that exists between the artistic aspirations and integrity of the local musicians and the daily life realities they face. Moreover, this chapter points to the in-between geographical setting of Nanjing – between Beijing and Shanghai, and Suzhou –and the way it affects the peripheral status and developments of their jazz activities.
