[Dixielandjazz] Origin of "Big Easy"

[David Richoux]

I think Hal nailed it, but there is a lot of controversy.

Barry Popik refers to New Orleans historian Blake Pontchartrain who 
publishes a very interesting column in the Gambit Weekly newspaper (now 
online) - fine reading!  
http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/2002-04-09/blake.html

I guess they have not been publishing for a while...

  more at http://www.barrypopik.com/article/582/big-easy


Personally, I never heard the term until after the movie came out...

Dave Richoux

On Sep 24, 2005, at 5:32 PM, Hal Vickery wrote:

>> From http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/64400.html :
>
> Meaning
>
> Nickname for New Orleans, USA.
>
> Origin
>
> Refers to the laid back life that jazz musicians indulged in there.
>
>> From http://e.sinchew-i.com/content.phtml?sec=2&artid=200509070000 :
>
> They called it the "Big Easy." The term originated with 
> African-American
> entertainers in the early 20th century.
>
> That was their nickname for New Orleans because it was "easy" for them 
> to
> earn a living in the city, an oasis of tolerance in an otherwise 
> racist and
> segregated south.
>