With the installation of the Chair in Jazz and Improvised Music, the Conservatorium van Amsterdam and the University of Amsterdam aim to close the gap between academic research and higher music education. The expertise in both fields can thus be mutually beneficial. Moreover, the conservatory is at the centre of the professional practice that is the focus of jazz research. Not only because this is where established and future musicians from all over the world meet, but also because jazz education itself is implicitly a form of reception. The curriculum reflects what staff and teachers consider important in this music, and it could be enriched by insights about the changing meaning of jazz for the cultural field. In addition, because of the conservatory's central role in contemporary jazz (virtually all of today's notable jazz musicians have had a conservatory education), and because of the unique confrontations of cultural practices from different regions, the CvA as a "living lab" is the place par excellence to contribute to the formation of cultural identity. Finally, it is important that our students have access to the state-of-the-art research networks in which the chair plays an important role.