'Jazz" discussed in baseball research group -- supposed musical antedatings in Newspaper Archives

[Gerald Cohen]

>> 
>>     The past few days the term jazz has received attention in SABR (Society
>> for American Baseball Research). Was the term used in a baseball context
>> before a musical one? This was triggered by a recent question on the TV show
>> Jeopardy.
>>  
>>     The answer clearly seems to be yes (baseball: 1912, 1913), but a SABR
>> member checked Newspaper Archives and found various prior mentions of the
>> term jazz  in reference to music.  But are these references reliable?
>>  
>>     I have checked several and they do not pan out.  The Sheboygan
>> (Wisconsin) Press supposedly has ŒJazz is music crying out¹ from December 17,
>> 1907.  But a check of the page shows mention of Al Smith running for
>> president (with an upcoming convention in Houston), and Al Smith ran for
>> president in 1928.  So how could Newspaper Archives have erred here?  Answer:
>> The date December 17, 1907 is the date the Sheboygan Press was *founded* (it
>> says so towards the top of the page).  It is not the date of the supposed
>> jazz attestation.
>>  
>>     Secondly, Newspaper Archives show ŒTelegraphic Brevities In Jazz¹ for the
>> New York Times, May 7, 1890. But when I checked the New York Times Historical
>> Index I did not find anything for the term jazz on this date.
>>  
>>     Thirdly, the Salt Lake Daily Tribune  (Utah) is said to contain ŒSALT
>> JAZZ¹ for February 22, 1881, supposedly in the (somewhat jumbled) context:
>>                 Ail of SUbic SALT JAZZ cmf j. Walker Brothers. [sic]
>>   When I pull up the relevant page, it seems to be various ads, with print so
>> tiny as to be illegible.  On the right are some adds with larger print.  I
>> see Walker Brothers there, and unless the accompanying few words in tiny
>> print contain mention of jazz, this term is not present there.  In any case,
>> what in the world would SALT JAZZ be?
>>  
>>     Fourthly, the Evening Telegram (Elyria, Ohio), April 10, 1909, supposedly
>> talks about Ragtime Jazz and Syncopated Melody. Also: The Original Jazz
>> Quartet, The Sensation of Ziegfeld¹s Midnight Frolics. ---- If it really was
>> the sensation of the Ziegfeld Midnight Frolics in 1909, why do we not see
>> mention of the Quartet in the New York City newspapers?  Btw, this same
>> newspaper supposedly mentions on May 9, 1909: Wilbur Sweatman Original Jazz
>> Band.   But a check of Sweatman¹s recordings shows the earliest ones were in
>> 1918-1919. 
>> 
>>     Might I also draw attention to the San Francisco Bulletin, April 5, 1913,
>> page 28, cols. 5-6; ŒIn Praise of "Jazz," a Futurist Word Which Has Just
>> Joined the Language.¹ ---  Clearly this statement about a new term just
>> having entered the language would be inappropriate if the term jazz already
>> existed as a musical term.
>> 
>>     In short, I believe no credibility should be attached to the supposed
>> pre-1913 attestations of the musical term jazz unless someone can provide
>> evidence that the attestation really existed on the date Newspaper Archives
>> says it did.  
>> 
>> Gerald Cohen
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> From: Skip McAfee [mailto:xerxes7 at earthlink.net]
>> Sent: Sun 7/12/2009 8:19 AM
>> To: Cohen, Gerald Leonard; Paul Dickson
>> Subject: Fw: Jazz
>> 
>> Gerald:
>>  
>> See the enclosed (below) message from Merritt Clifton, a regular on SABR-L
>> and a former ballplayer.
>>  
>> My question: Is the "jazz" mentioned in these newspaper articles the same
>> jazz that was played in Chicago and New Orleans?  The 1909 citations appear
>> to be yes.  It's my understanding that the term "jazz" (or "jas") originated
>> in West Africa, near the beginning of the 19th century, and referred to the
>> vim and vitality and vigor such as that expressed by the San Francisco
>> ballplayers.  If so, the term could be applied to any kind of lively music,
>> even before it was applied to the jazz we now know.
>>  
>> Do you have access to NewspaperArchive at your university?  This seems to be
>> a great source for tracking early terminology.
>>  
>> Skip McAfee
>> xerxes7 at earthlink.net
>>  
>>  
>> -------
>>  
>> From: Merritt Clifton <mailto:anmlpepl at whidbey.com>
>> Sent: Sunday, July 12, 2009 4:35 AM
>> To: Society for American Baseball Research [moderated, SABR members only]
>> <mailto:SABR-L at APPLE.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
>> Subject: Jazz
>> 
>> Skip McAfee posted:
>>> It is true that the term "jazz" was used in baseball before it transferred
>>> to the syncopated rag music later called jazz.
>> 
>>         Actually,  it is NOT true,  and the evidence pops up rather easily
>> with a quick search at <www.NewspaperArchive.com
>> <http://www.newspaperarchive.com/> >.
>> 
>>         The earliest published use of the word "jazz" that I found was this,
>> which is unfortunately unintelligible:
>> 
>> Salt Lake Daily Tribune - February 22, 1881, Salt Lake City, Utah
>> SALT JAZZ cmf j WALKER BROTHERS...
>> Date of Publication: Tuesday, February 22, 1881
>> City: Salt Lake City
>> State: Utah
>>     
>>         The next I found was this:
>> 
>> New York Times, The - May 7, 1890, New York, New York
>> TELEGRAPHIC BREVITIES IN JAZZ
>> Date of Publication: Wednesday, May 07, 1890
>> City: New York
>> State: New York
>> 
>>         That sounds like a musical reference,  and this most certainly is:
>> 
>> 
>> Sheboygan Press, The - December 17, 1907, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
>> Jazz is music crying out
>> Date of Publication: Tuesday, December 17, 1907
>> City: Sheboygan
>> State: Wisconsin
>> 
>>         as is this:
>> 
>> Evening Telegram, The - April 10, 1909, Elyria, Ohio
>> a Smashing Program of Characteristic Negro Musical Art in Ragtime Jazz and
>> Syncopated Melody A Conclave of the World's Greatest and...Trombonist who
>> Introduced The Blues to New York THE ORIGINAL JAZZ QUARTET The Sensation of
>> Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolics GEORGE JONES America's...
>> Refine by:
>> Date of Publication: Saturday, April 10, 1909
>> City: Elyria
>> State: Ohio
>> 
>>         and this:
>> 
>> Evening Telegram, The - May 9, 1909, Elyria, Ohio
>> Stellar Quartette J 1300 to Jing Jing Wilbur Sweatman Original Jazz Band
>> Rainy Day Wilbur Original Jazz Band Some Day I'll...
>> Refine by:
>> Date of Publication: Sunday, May 09, 1909
>> City: Elyria
>> State: Ohio
>> 
>>         The earliest mentions of jazz in connection with baseball appear to
>> be,  as Gerald L. Cohen suggested,  in 1912-1913.  However,  jazz music,
>> going by the name jazz,  was by then already a prominent industry.
>> 
>> 
>> --Merritt Clifton
> 
> 

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