Michael Kahr

Michael Kahr is a jazz pianist, composer, musicologist, and artistic researcher. He currently serves as Senior Lecturer at the Institute for Jazz (University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, Austria) and as Dean and Academic Director of the Center for Artistic Research at JAM MUSIC LAB Private University for Jazz and Popular Music Vienna. His career spans roles at institutions like Gustav Mahler Private University Klagenfurt (Senior Scientist, 2022–2023) and University of Sydney (Lecturer, 2002–2004). He has led major research projects such as "Artistic/Scientific Cartography of Jazz in Vienna" (2024–2028) and "Network for Artistic Music Research" (2022–2025).

• PhD in Musicology (University of Sydney, 2010)
• MMus (University of Sydney, 2005)
• Mag. Art. (University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, 2001)

His research focuses on artistic research methodologies in jazz, analyzing historical practices through performance and composition. He explores chromatic harmony (e.g., Clare Fischer, Herbie Hancock), local identity in jazz, and interdisciplinary approaches to jazz music. His work bridges socio-cultural contexts with musical analysis, emphasizing the intersection of race, gender, and politics in jazz narratives.

Publications include peer-reviewed studies on Graz jazz history (1900–2015), chromatic harmony, and artistic research frameworks. He co-edits the Routledge Companion of Jazz and Gender (2022) and contributes to journals like Rivista di Analisi e Teoria Musicale and Jazzforschung. His Archduke Johann Research Award (2018) and Fulbright Scholar grant (2010) highlight his academic impact. He mentors doctoral projects at institutions like NTNU and Royal Conservatoire Brussels and leads initiatives such as the International Network for Artistic Research in Jazz (INARJ).