Contemporary vocal jazz: an artistic cartography of European encounters

Barbara Wiernik
Promotors: Karen François, Kathleen Coessens, David Linx

The question whether there is an artistic movement, a “school” of vocal jazz that is not solely based on the American tradition, has never been fully explored by jazz musicians. Therefore, with this doctoral research Barbara Wiernik wants to find out to what extent our milieu defines us artistically, whether there are more European currents, and what its main branches are. The methodology originates in artistic practice and is based on filmed meetings with a number of European key figures (singers and jazz experts) with whom Wiernik will discuss their perception of contemporary vocal jazz and the role of the jazz vocalist.


The research will result, among other things, in a website with documentation, analyses, and a classification where vocalists are categorized according to certain criteria: which jazz style defines them, the place of vocal improvisation, the freedom of melodic interpretation, external influences, etc. All this will culminate in a kind of living cartography of vocal trends in European jazz. Finally, several existing or new artistic projects will be explored that are closely related to the research and can inform it, e.g. projects on voice and improvisation that consider various aspects of jazz. By integrating influences and (im)migrations of modern vocal jazz, this European cartography will explore a number of musical ranges to the maximum.