Keeping the Tradition Alive: The relatively low percentage of Black students in jazz studies programs remains a topic of interest as scholars want to ensure that the musical culture of an earlier generation of African-Americans lives on.
...Although there are no statistics documenting the racial break-down of jazz studies students nationally, the percentage of Black students in such programs remains a topic of interest primarily because jazz scholars want to ensure that the musical culture of an earlier generation of African-Americans is not lost on the younger generation.
“Right now we have in our program about 35 students, and five are African-American,” says Kenny Burrell, guitarist and jazz program director at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Burrell founded the UCLA jazz program in 1996 with the idea of building a faculty that would be composed of both scholars and musicians out in the field. The program emphasizes jazz performance. Upon graduation, students receive a bachelor’s degree in ethnomusicology.
“We’ve been trying to increase the number of African-American students,” adds Burrell. “We’ve secured some new funding for scholarships which will make it easier and more attractive for African-American students as well as other students to come here.”
