[Dixielandjazz] Our word JAZZ

[Jack Mitchell]

Californians have long boasted that the first appearance of the word 
JAZZ in print was in their newspapers in April 1912, even though it 
related to baseball.

I have now found an ad in the December 8, 1910 issue of The Yarragon, 
Trafalgar and Moe Settlement News (truly) for "LADIE'S JAZZ APRONS from 
1/11". If you haven't worked it out, it's a journal from provincial 
Victoria, Australia. Don't ask me how a jazz apron differs from other 
aprons. I know aprons have nothing to do with jazz, but neither does 
baseball.

John Whiteoak of Victoria has found in the Balonne Beacon (published in 
St. George, a small town in western Queensland) for January 25 1913 the 
following item: "A dance was held on Monday night in the Shire Hall by 
the Cricket Club, but there was not a large attendance. Good music was 
supplied by the Jazz Band." We've always been told that the first 
mention of a jass/ jazz band was in Chicago in 1916.

Obviously the Queensland group wouldn't have sounded anything like 
LaRocca and Co. and I don't think the word JAZZ was an Australian 
invention. Interesting though.

Best wishes
Jack Mitchell