[Dixielandjazz] Nicknames was Bird

[Stephen Barbone]

Jim Beebe wrote"

"Wasn't Johnny Hodges 'nick' name "rabbit?"

Listmates and Jim:

Yes. I always thought because he ------ like one. He may have been
called Jeep too. Didn't Ellington write a tune for him called "Jeep's
Blues"? Or was Jeep someone else?

No mystery about "Bird" or "Yardbird" He was "Bird " as a teenager if
one believes Buster Smith, and it came from rounding up chickens
(Yardbirds) to blacks who raised them in their yards. Of course Smith
could be lying, but his story is more credible than our conjecture.

Bean came about for Hawkins because he was looked up to by fellow musos
as being intelligent. So "Bean" refers to his head, or brain. eg. He's a
"Bean," or he's got some "Bean". Later on in the 40s and 50s, smart
folks were called "Wigs" by jazz musos in NYC. eg. My Lawyer is a "Wig".

To add to the list, anyone know why Milt Jackson was called "Bags"?

Cheers,
Steve Barbone