The Constrained Position of Young Musicians in the Yogyakarta Jazz Community

This article gives a critical account of the development of the jazz scene in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, since the 1980s. It looks specifically at the question of why young jazz musicians did not take the initiative in creating new kinds of jazz composition and playing, unlike their age peers in other nonmainstream music genres. In other words, why was there so little DIY (do it yourself) ethos in the Yogyakarta jazz scene? The interpretation of relevant phenomena offered in this article uses Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of practice. Data were generated through in-depth interviews and participant observation. The transformation of Indonesian jazz both in national and local scope, the master-based pedagogic model, and economic pressures of the jazz musicians in everyday life are the main reasons why there was little DIY ethos in the Yogyakarta jazz scene.

Artikel ini menganalisa secara kritis perkembangan ranah jazz di Yogyakarta, Indonesia sejak era ’80an hingga sekarang. Secara spesifik artikel ini mempertanyakan mengapa musisi-musisi jazz muda tidak berinisiasi untuk menciptakan komposisi dan cara bermain jazz yang baru, berbeda dengan kolega sebaya mereka di genre spesifik yang lain. Dengan kata lain, mengapa hanya sedikit etos DIY di ranah jazz Yogyakarta? Interpretasi terhadap fenomena ini menggunakan teoripraktik dari Bourdieu sedangkan data dikumpulkan melalui wawancara mendalam dan partisipasi observasi. Transformasi jazz Indonesia pada tingkat nasional dan lokal, model pembelajaran berguru dan tekanan ekonomi yang dihadapi oleh musisi-musisi jazz dalam kehidupan sehari-hari menjadi alasan mengapa hanya sedikit etos DIY di ranah jazz Yogyakarta.