In our first two explorations of the word “jazz” (see the Index) we’ve learned that it developed from “jasm” aka “jazzum,” that it was first used among baseball players in California, that it first appeared in print in 1912, that it had multiple meanings, many of which are still in use today, and more.
"Rose Room" outlived its composer by many years. In the big band era, it was used as a specialty piece for the short-lived pioneering electric guitarist Charlie Christian.
As that link states, there are many false theories out there. In the 7th and last essay i will detail some of the Many errors that people make, but really the bottom line is that this kind of work requires training--one can't just find two words that sound similar and say "They must be related!" THANK YOU
These articles are some of the best things I have read on substack. Keep up the excellent work!
I put MANY hours into researching this series. THANK YOU!
My lord, this surpasses your previous work on the topic, which was definitive. Thank you!
THANK YOU LOREN! More discoveries to come!
"Rose Room" outlived its composer by many years. In the big band era, it was used as a specialty piece for the short-lived pioneering electric guitarist Charlie Christian.
Absolutely--and Duke's "In A Mellotone" (aka ... Mellow Tone) used the chords from Rose Room. THANK YOU DAVID
Lewis, this very interesting to me and adds much to what I already knew. Great research that’ much appreciated. Keep up the good work!
THANK YOU MICHAEL!
Fascinating. Thanks Dr Porter. This gives "Jazz orchestra" a more in-depth connotation as Per Art's short quite on the term.
Yes, and in a future essay I'll show what we know about terms like that and "jazz band." THANK YOU JEFF
And an early (I presume) use of the word “hep”! Perhaps you can research tat next.
"Hep" has been dated to at least 1905--see https://greensdictofslang.com/entry/od24sry
However I might indeed find that I can add something to that research at another time. THANK YOU JOE!
Pretty sure I read in Flash of the Spirit that it's from the Wolof. Pretty sure it's not: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2004/12/the-real-history-of-hip.html
As that link states, there are many false theories out there. In the 7th and last essay i will detail some of the Many errors that people make, but really the bottom line is that this kind of work requires training--one can't just find two words that sound similar and say "They must be related!" THANK YOU