On the initiative of UNESCO, the second edition of the International Jazz Day was celebrated on Tuesday 30 April 2013. FIM and French musicians’ union SNAM organized a round table in Paris (Carrousel du Louvre) entitled “Jazz: a passion, a profession”, providing a backdrop for reflection on the living conditions of jazz musicians, as well as on how production and diffusion of this form of music was evolving.

Six speakers* all addressed different aspects of jazz musicians’ work, from stage to recording sessions, and painted an alarming picture of working conditions for these artists.

Although everyone applauded the principle of an international day devoted to jazz, all participants underlined how this form of music has been forgotten in popular culture, the ever-widening gap between recognized artists and those who are less well-known and, to a certain extent, the disappearance of a sort of “jazz musicians middle class”, also regretting the cold feet of music diffusers and distributors when it came to giving young people their chance. Moreover, this situation is made worse by the fall-off in public aid and backing from collecting societies within the scope of artistic action.

Participants did, however, underline their determination to help young musicians live from the fruit of their passion against this difficult backdrop. They also expressed their hope that the International Jazz Day would help trigger a renewal of this music genre where the media and general public were concerned.

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* Maïté Delhin (producer), Emmanuel Bex (organist), Fred Maurin (President of the Federation Grands Formats), Jean-Remy Guedon (Vice-President of the residency committee of the Centre national de la chanson, des variétés et du jazz), Michel Goldberg (Director of Arpej) – Moderator: Jonathan Duclos-Arkilovitch (coordinator of Victoires du Jazz)