Bert Kelly's Jaz Band (UNCLASSIFIED)

[George Thompson]

The earliest I have for "jazz band" (as "jass band") is:
        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 women sat, arms about each other, singing, shouting, making the night hideous, while their unfortunate (?) brethren and sisters fought in vain to join them.
        Chicago Herald, May 1, 1916, p. 1, col. 1 & p. 4, col. 3  [The (?) is from the original text.]

Found, if I recall, by following up a footnote in a history of early jazz in Chicago.

I'm very interested to see that the Indianapolis Freeman is digitized in EAN.  I've never seen the paper, but have often seen references to it in recent scholarship.  I get the impression that it had the ambition to be a national newspaper, as the Chicago Defender came to be, and it should have a lot of good stuff in it, particularly from the 1910s and 1900s.  But since it died young, so to speak, it's been forgotten, or so's my impression.  When UMI released a huge collection of black newspapers on microfilm a few years ago, it was left out.  The NYPL does own a microfilm, which has been on my list of things to look at there.

GAT


George A. Thompson
Author of A Documentary History of "The African Theatre", Northwestern Univ. Pr., 1998, but nothing much lately.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mullins, Bill AMRDEC" <Bill.Mullins at US.ARMY.MIL>
Date: Monday, September 13, 2010 5:11 pm
Subject: Re: Bert Kelly's Jaz Band (UNCLASSIFIED)
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU

> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> >
> > The 1/15/1917 advertisement does confirm [Bert] Kelly's claim that he
> was among
> > the first to use "jazz band," but does not demonstrate his absolute
> > priority, since there were at least two other "jazz bands," Brown's
> Jazz
> > Band and the Original Dixieland Jass Band, prior to that date.
> >
> > John Baker
>
>
> Also:
> [Indianapolis] _Freeman_ 11/25/1916 p 6 col 5 [EAN]
> [advertisement] "Biggest Ballad Hit of the Season
> By W. Benton Overstreet
> "I Wonder if Your Loving Heart Still Pines for Me"
> Sung with success by Anna Holt with Estelle Harris
> and her "Jazz" Orchestra."
>
> [Indianapolis] _Freeman_ 12/2/1916 p 6 col 1 [EAN]
> "Dan White's famous singing "Jazz" band are now in West Baden, Ind.,
> doing fine.  Those in the band are Dan White, violin and director; S.
> B.
> Foster, Edward Carr, Irvin Richardson, Wm. Fields, Malon Hall, Wm. Hoy
> and Tony Bairfield."
>
> [Indianapolis] _Freeman_ 12/9/1916 p 5 col 2 [EAN]
> "Estelle Harris was at the Crown theatre last week with Overstreet and
> her Jaz Band."
>
> _Racine Journal News_ 12/18/1916 p. 18 col 4 [narchive]
> "Orlando's Jaz band will furnish entertainment at the Belvidere all
> week."
>
> _Cedar Rapids Republican_ 12/21/1916 p 6 col 1 [narchive]
> [adv for Majestic Theater] "Alabama "Jaz" Band All the Music in the
> World"
> Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
> Caveats: NONE
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
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------------------------------------------------------------
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