Jazz-The Word

The history of the word jazz is indeed a fascinating one. Variously derived from Africa, Arabia, the Creole, French, Old English, Spanish, the Indians, the names of mythical musicians, old vaudeville practices, associations with sex and vulgarity, onomatopoeia, and other sources, its real origin has been, and may well remain, a mystery. Yet a study of the problems that have been associated with it, and a tracing of the suggestions and viewpoints that have been advanced in the literature from 1917 through 1958, provide a real journey into the background not only of the word, but of jazz itself. A number of summary articles concerning the word have appeared in the past, but for the most part these have added nothing new to the controversy which surrounds the word. Of more importance are the original suggestions which provided the material for such summaries; thus an article by Walter Kingsley in the New York Sun (1917) laid down some of the basic ideas concerning African and minstrel origins of the word which have been copied, either with or without acknowledgment of the source, time and time again. A series of articles in the Etude in August and September, 1924, while rehashing some previous suggestions, led to one of the most extended discussions of the problem which raged through several allied journals. A third set of articles, again stressing the African origin, was set off by an anonymous piece in the New York Times (1934) which led to numerous rejoinders and further suggestions. We have come to a point in the study of the word where it seems wise to review the past theories although even now it is probably impossible to decide surely which will ultimately prove to be correct.