"Jazz Means Happy and Loose Like" (1917)

[Laurence Horn]

At 12:41 PM -0500 12/3/07, Wilson Gray wrote:
>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.
>

I think Rastus the hillbilly has since officially changed his name to Cletus.

LH

>On Dec 3, 2007 12:11 PM, Benjamin Zimmer
><bgzimmer at babel.ling.upenn.edu> wrote:
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>>  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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>
>
>
>--
>All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
>come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
>-----
>                                               -Sam'l Clemens
>
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