"Jazz Means Happy and Loose Like" (1917)

[Wilson Gray]

OT. "Rastus" and "Zek'l" were still being used as generic personal
names for a darky, like "darky" was used as a generic term for a black
male, into the early 'Sixties. I wonder how far back they go.

To give the white devil <har! har!> his due, these names were quite
often also attached to poor whites of the caricatured "hillbilly"
type.

-Wilson

On Dec 3, 2007 12:11 PM, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at BABEL.LING.UPENN.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: "Jazz Means Happy and Loose Like" (1917)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> On Dec 3, 2007 11:56 AM, Benjamin Zimmer <bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
> >
> > Interesting item from America's Historical Newspapers...
> >
> > -----
> > Morning Olympian (Olympia, Wash.), July 1, 1917, p. 1, col. 1
> > Jazz Means Happy and Loose Like.
> > It's a Lovely Syncopated, Care Free Feeling.
> > Many guesses and opinions have been offered as to the meaning of the
> > word "Jazz," since Raymond Ballard's Jazz Orchestra played at the Red
> > Cross ball last Thursday evening.
> > Regarding the word, its acceptance by the public and its meaning, Mr.
> > Ballard said yesterday: "Jazz music is simply the natural, happy
> > expression of syncopated music. The word is also used to express the
> > meaning of a mixture or a jumble, and its application in that sense to
> > dance music. [illegible] the ability of the musicians to [illegible]
> > mix it up [illegible] and all kinds of liberties with it, yet at the
> > same time to maintain a perfect rhythm and perfect harmony.
> > "'Jazz' musicians absolutely must feel the spirit of it and play
> > because they like to play, else they cease to be 'Jazz' musicians, and
> > paradoxical as it may seem, they must possess musical talent and
> > ability.
> > "In the south when a darky meets another darky and says 'How's you
> > feelin' this mornin' Rastus?' and Rastus replies: 'I's feelin' mighty
> > jazz' he means that he's very happy. And that's about all there is to
> > 'Jazz,' but it's a whole lot!"
> > -----
>
> The same article was printed the following day in the Olympia Daily
> Recorder, which provides the illegible sentence above:
>
> "The word is also used to express the meaning of a mixture or a
> jumble, and its application in that sense to dance music, lies in the
> ability of the musicians to add to the melody, mix it up, turn it
> around; in fact, take any and all kinds of liberties with it, yet at
> the same time to maintain a perfect rhythm and perfect harmony."
>
>
>
> --Ben Zimmer
>
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>



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All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
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-----
                                              -Sam'l Clemens

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