[Ads-l] Master List of Earliest Uses of "Jazz" (Term for Musical Genre)

[Jonathan Lighter]

If "jazz" (likely from "jasm" and perhaps re-analyzed as "jazz 'em") meant
"energy or spirit," then "jazz music" would have meant merely "unusually
energetic or spirited music." In 1915 that would have included ragtime. The
Original Dixieland Jazz Band would have been unusually energetic - as it
was.

Or perhaps that's too obvious to mention at this point.

JL

On Wed, Oct 22, 2025 at 4:47 PM Stephen Goranson <
00001dd3d6fc15d3-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> Though I have not researched jazz anywhere near as much as many many
> others, on glancing at some of George Thompson's posts (including ragtime),
> and on having been a member of a high school pep band playing at football
> games, I do wonder whether there is a clear dividing line between
> sports jazz and music jazz. Maybe, maybe not. My mind is mostly elsewhere
> atm.
> scg
>
> On Wed, Oct 22, 2025 at 8:40 AM Shapiro, Fred <
> 00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> > For those interested in the history of "jazz" as a term for a musical
> > genre, I have compiled a master list of the 16 earliest citations I have
> > found.  This is an expansion of the excellent list in Gerald Cohen's
> > wonderful book "Origin of the Term 'Jazz.'"  The most important of my
> > additions beyond the Cohen list are the #2 and #3 items, which are
> > non-Chicago articles.  Some of the articles were printed in multiple
> > newspapers.  In those instances, I have only listed the earliest
> newspaper
> > printing the article.
> >
> > Fred Shapiro
> >
> >
> > ?  Chicago Examiner, May 22, 1915, page 17: "jad orchestra"  ["jad"
> > appears to have been a misspelling of "jaz"]
> >
> > 1  Chicago Tribune, July 11, 1915, page VIII.8: "jazz"
> >
> > 2  Dixon (Ill.) Evening Leader, April 8, 1916. page 8: "jazz band"
> >
> > 3  Sacramento Bee, April 24, 1916, page 3: "jaz orchestra"
> >
> > 4  Chicago Herald, May 1, 1916, page 1: "jass band"
> >
> > 5  "When I Hear That Jaz Band Play" (words and music by Eddie Gray
> > [Chicago: Frank E. Root], copyrighted May 18, 1916)
> >
> > 6  Chicago Tribune, May 22, 1916, page 13: "jaz band"
> >
> > 7  Chicago Examiner, June 4, 1916, page 5-6: "jass band"
> >
> > 8  Chicago Tribune, June 8, 1916, page 4: "jaz band"
> >
> > 9  Chicago Tribune, June 25, 1916, page VIII.10: "jass band"
> >
> > 10  Chicago Tribune, July 7, 1916, page 2: "jaz band"
> >
> > 11  Chicago Tribune, July 12, 1916, page 15: "jass band"
> >
> > 11  Lake County Times (Hammond, Ind.), July 12, 1916, page 1: "jass band"
> >
> > 13  New York Clipper, July 15, 1916, page 12: "jazz band"
> >
> > 13  Twin City Star (Minneapolis), July 15, 1916, page 4: "jaz band"
> >
> > 15  Chicago Tribune, July 16, 1916, page 21: "jaz band"
> >
> > 16  Chicago Tribune, July 19, 1916, page 3: "jazz band"
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>


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