[Ads-l] Antedating of "Old School" (Adjective, Music)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

There was a thread about the adjectival form of "old school" in the
domain of music back in April 2024.

https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2024-April/165248.html
https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2024-April/165255.html

At that time, I posted a 1937 citation for "old-school" applied to jazz.

Date: November 17, 1937
Periodical: Variety
Periodical Location: Los Angeles, California
Article: Music-Dance Tours: Disc Reviews
Author: Abel Green
Quote Page 54, Column 1
Database: ProQuest

[Begin excerpt]
Freddie Fisher and his Schnickel-fritzers on Decca 1501 give out 'Baby
Smiles at Me' and 'Nobody's Got the Blues But Me' in the corny-hot
manner which first brought this Twin Cities hinterland band to
attention, principally via the Decca disks, into a Warner Bros.
$25.000 contract. It's really old-school jazz, but commercial, and for
those who want to be a bit ahead of the parade in ‘discovering’ some
new novelty on the wax, this is a good sample.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Sun, Mar 1, 2026 at 9:17 PM Shapiro, Fred
<00001ac016895344-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> "Castile Jazz" should be "Castle Jazz" in the citation below.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
> ________________________________
> From: Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
> Sent: Sunday, March 1, 2026 9:07 PM
> To: American Dialect Society <ads-l at listserv.uga.edu>
> Subject: Antedating of "Old School" (Adjective, Music)
>
> old school, adj. (OED, adj2, 1988)
>
> 1950 Down Beat 17 Nov. 13/5 (RIPM Jazz Periodicals)
>
> The only other band "imported" for the Jubilee this year was the Castile Jazz band of Portland and a group of young musicians who play their own conception of old-school jazz.
>
> Fred Shapiro
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org