Jazz Studies

We are one of the leading research centres and have a proven track record in producing internationally excellent research in a number of diverse areas of jazz studies, including studies of jazz audiences on and offline, new ways of promoting jazz in the digital age, and historical jazz studies. You would be supervised by academics who combine research, teaching and work in the field of jazz.

Dr Nick Gebhardt is an authority on jazz history, improvisation, and the entertainment industry in the United States and is the author of 'Going For Jazz: Musical Practices and American Ideology'. He sits on the editorial board of the 'Jazz Research Journal', and co-edits the 'Transnational Studies in Jazz' series for Routledge USA.

Prof Tim Wall's historical studies of jazz musicians and practices inform his new research into European jazz, the British engagement with African American music and culture, and the organisation of jazz audiences online.

The application of an historical perspective to investigations of contemporary issues is mirrored by Dr Simon Barber, who completed his doctoral thesis on the independent New York-based jazz label GRP Records and continues to examine the role of the music industries in all aspects of jazz production, and most recently worked with UK jazz label Edition Records.

Professor of Music Industries Innovation, Andrew Dubber, author of several key texts on digital music, brings considerable expertise to the jazz studies supervisory strand and recently led the Rhythm Changes project alongside Nick Gebhardt, an investigation of jazz cultures and European identities.