[Dixielandjazz] Origin of the word-- jazz-- Mike Vax

[Norman Vickers]

To:  Musicians and Jazzfans list  & DJML

From: Norman Vickers, Jazz Society of Pensacola

 

Mike Vax-( everybody on this list   should know who he is-if you don't, then
look It up) writes about the possible origin of the word "jazz."

 

Norman's comments below:

 

From: vaxtrpts at aol.com [mailto:vaxtrpts at aol.com] 
Sent: Saturday, September 06, 2014 5:08 PM
To: NVickers1 at cox.net
Subject: Re: : Buddy Bolden Day, courtesy of Bob Cook

 

I don't know if you have ever heard this story, but it was told to me by
more than one of the "older musicians" when I lived in New Orleans back in
the 70's, who were there pretty much towards the beginning.
There was a classical music reviewer for the Times-Piccayune Newspaper who
hated the music of Buddy Bolden.  At that time, there was no real name for
the music.  This reviewer said that "Buddy Bolden's music sounds like the
braying of a Jack Ass."  The musicians took that and made a contraction of
it and started calling the music "Jass."  Of course "Jazz" was a verb to
describe what you did in the sporting houses.  It came from two sources
"jizz" and the Jasmine scented perfume that the whore's wore.  The one thing
I have never been able to find out is exactly when Jass officially became
Jazz.  I wonder if anyone on the list knows that?   

 

 

Mike Vax
Friends of Big Band Jazz, Prescott Jazz Summit, 
Stan Kenton Alumni Band
www.mikevax.net
www.bigbandjazz.net
www.prescottjazz.com
www.getzen.com

 

 

Norman writes:

 

Thanks, Mike.  Yes, my impression that "jass" was  a word connoting sexual
intercourse.  I recall Eubie Blake on TV in his latter years saying, " I
never call it jazz, I say ragtime."  But he never explained it.

 

I had heard that it was a newspaperman ( not sure where, probably New York)
who wouldn't use jass in print, so he added the double "z" and that was
first use of  word "jazz" in print.

 

Good discussion topic.;  Hope it will produce more light than heat.  Can
anyone clarify!

 

 
--end--