More on Musical "Jazz"

[Fred Shapiro]

The Sudhalter book "Lost Chords," which seems to be of questionable
scholarliness, also refers to a possible usage of "jazz" in the spring of
1916:

On Saturday evening, April 29, a strike force of sixty upstanding Chicago
ladies descended on caf after South Side caf, determined to beard the
devil in his lair. One such den was Schiller's, by then featuring "Stein's
Band From Dixie." "A line of taxi cabs radiated from the Schiller to the
east, west, north, and south," one report said. "In front of the doors, a
crowd of people fought for admission. A perspiring doorman held them back.
`Can't come in,' he shouted. `We're crowded to capacity. Wait 'til some of
the others come out.'" The ladies' "findings" duly appeared in the Chicago
Herald, under the headline SIXTY WOMEN RIP MASK FROM VICE:     It was
impossible for anyone to be heard. The shriek of women's drunken laughter
rivaled the blatant scream of the imported New Orleans Jass Band, which
never seemed to stop playing. Men and woman sat, arms about each other,
singing, shouting, making the night hideous, while their unfortunate
brethren and sisters fought in vain to join them.
[end of excerpt from book]

This seems to be claiming that the Chicago Herald used the term "jass
band" shortly after Apr. 29, 1916.

Fred Shapiro


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