Music, Culture and Society: Philip Flavin
7 March 2008
Jazz and the Australian Eureka Youth League: An Uneasy Alliance
Craig De Wilde
From the time of its origins in America, jazz music has been surrounded by questions of moral, political and racial significance. Even when this musical tradition was disseminated to other geographical regions, it continued to be associated with controversial issues, exemplifying strong social and political viewpoints. In 1941, the Eureka Youth League, a politically left-wing society with communist affiliations, was begun in Australia. Among their attitudes, the members of the League regarded jazz as a strongly political statement, representing a message of protest by African-Americans against what was considered a racist and unjust society. The League saw a strong parallel between the African-American viewpoint and their own perceived notion of the societal oppression being perpetrated on the Australian working classes. In 1944, the Eureka Hot Jazz Society was formed in an attempt to make jazz a part of working class life, similar to the way folk music had been used to communicate a pro-labor union message in the American South. While many jazz musicians of the period claimed to be largely apolitical, the communist affiliation remained associated with traditional jazz music in Australia.
Craig De Wilde is Head of the School of Music-Conservatorium, Monash University.