The Puzzle of Geographical Disconnectedness
This chapter explains why it matters that jazz was produced in sixty-seven cities worldwide. That is, jazz up to 1933 was primarily recorded in a small set of cities, including Chicago, London, and New York. Focusing on the mobility networks of musicians across these cities, the chapter examines how disconnectedness can have a unique role in social systems, particularly in innovation-based social systems familiar to scholars of organizations and markets (e.g., cultural markets, technological systems). Using an empirical approach to the rise of jazz during the period 1897–1933, it explores the impact of structurally disconnected cities and the emergence of jazz standards through the discographical canon. The chapter argues that it is important to pay attention to jazz recordings from more disconnected cities such as Minneapolis (Minnesota), Hilversum (Holland), Sydney (Australia), Buenos Aires (Argentina), and Calcutta (India).