Cayton's monthly. [volume], February 01, 1921, Page 10, Image 10

About Cayton's monthly. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1921-1921

Image provided by: Washington State Library; Olympia, WA

                
10
The Origin of Jazz
(BY MADGE R. CAYTON)
Just what is jazz? One has a vague idea of a dis
orderly number of sounds played entirely for dancing.
But jazz has a far deep.r significance. It is an attempt
to reproduce the marvelous syncopation of the African
Jungle. It is the result of the savage musican's won
derful gift of progressive retarding and acceleration
which is guided by his sense of ewing. He who would
play ja^z nnut have rhythmic aggressiveness. As one
iran put it, ja: z music is the rtelirum tr mens of suyco
pL.i'on. It n strict rhythm without melody.
The words ja;, jazz, jazz, J&3Z, and jascz are of
Afrcan origin but come direct form the Creole patois
and idiom meaning "speed things up." For in th> old
plantation days when the slaves were having one of their
rare holidays an fun would languish, some West Coast
African would say, "jazz hdT up," and then things would
go fast and furious. Today "jazz her up," is still a
slang expression with the same meaning.
There are two types of jazz: One originating in
China, which is called Siames 3 music, and the other
originating in Africa having only a general name of
jazz applied to it. Since the Siamese music or Oriental
jazz, as it is often called, stay:d strictly in China and
underwent no futher development it is not important.
But the jazz that originated in Africa, or the Occidental
jazz is known the world ov-r and because of its impor
tance w> will trace its growth only.
Occidental jazz first came to life on the West Coast
of Africa. There big sturdy warriers danced to tli? music
of throbbing Tom —Toms while the entire jungle was
the accompanying orchestra.
Then it spread, reaching Cuba thru deported slaves.
It found a rich soil there for its growth, since the
jungles of Africa were not so different from the swamps
of Cuba. All of that "Hula Hula stuff," goes straight
back to Africa for its origin. Then jazz was transplanted
into America, entering from the south and creeping
up until it covered all of America. About that time the
war broke out and when our boys went to Europe and
and especially to France they took their beloved jazz
with them. So Paris was initiated into a new world of
music over which they promptly went wild.
But jazz has found her strongest support in the
United States. When jazz arived in America via New
Crleans it almost died leaving only a little spark fostered
by the slaves and New Orleans underworld. For years
jazz has ruled the New Orleans underworld resorts,
thei>- natrons dancing to jazz for gladsome generations
Ragtime and the new dances came from there. Then
slowly, little by little, jazz crept up the Missippi from
resort to resort until it landed in Chicago at Freiburg's
whither it had been proceded by stanzas of "Must I
Hesitate"? "The Blues", 'Frankie and Johnnie," and
other classics of the levee underworld that seems to
please the savage part of us. From there it spread
like wild fire all over the United States, hitting the
Middle West the hardest and the extreme East the
lightest. Jazz has reigned supreme for some years and
CAYTON'S MONTH! V
most likely, will reign for many more for it has invaded
our dance halls, theaters, and concert halls. Even our
churchs have not escaped without their share of tem
petious music. It has even snatched our very song»,
classical and popular, and taken them for its own use
ragging them to death.
One use to think of a band as a group of respectable
looking beings usally with a splendid musical ability.
But when one gazes upon a jazz band he sees a bunch of
s .emingly demented men, contorting themselves and
their instruments far better than a St Vitis dancer.
For the modern jazz band is in reality a young army
artillery. The howitzers of the band ara stationed in
the trap drum, snare drum, cymbals, triangle, wooden
blocks, xylophone, cow bells, rattles and whistles for
the production of various weried noises. The trome
bones represent the field guns, the clarinets, oboes,
saxophones, auto homes and cornets furnish thol rapid
lire batteries. The range being point blank one can
easily s^e why the effect of the drum fire is so complete.
Some say that jazz is sensual. If so why has it
lived in America so long? For this reason: Jazz is of
tho ravage and therefore clemntal in its appeal. It is
bouterous, rough, but the very soul of kindly good
humor and care free merriment. It is the music siren
of the dance for while one is swept thru a neck breaking,
whirl-wind measura his own cares and responsibilities
are brushed aside. In America especially because we,
;00, are of a strenous nature, we nejd and must find
some sort of energetic exercise as a conteractant. The
old fashioned, dreamy waltez and graceful, measured
minuets are things of the past. The tired business man,
the worn out mother, the discouraged poet, as well as
the impatient youths, seek and find relief in jazz. Then
ddi not th « dough boys find a wonderful solace in their
beloved jazz? For while under its throes they forgot
the bloody battle field, the stench of decaying bodies;
they even forgot there was such a thing as war. Then
jazz is d mocratic. It is simple enough for any one to
understand and enough of a vampire to coax every one
into a world of oblivion. Can we not then say that jazz
has existed for a purpose and has truly fulfilled that
purpos;.?
But on the other hand one must be careful that the
alluring god of jazz, Mumbo Jumbo, does not lead us so
far from the true god of music, Pan, that we fail to
appr ciate the real classic. Might not one thus uncon
sciouly sell his birth-right for a mess of pottage?
Because jazz is elemental bringing the savage to the
curface, it is dang rous. We cannot afford in our
present stage of civilization to accept the standard of
the savage even if it is only thru the giddy measure of
a dance. True jazz belongs to the "forest primeval"
and is mor: real and refined there than in a hall filled
with dancer.3. The very fact that the growth of jazz
las been thru the under world resorts of America is a
E rong po'nt in i's disfavor. In embrasing what we
now c..11 a necessary evil is there not a chance of jazz
becoming the key to open our souls to the passions our
fore fathers nave spent generations in trying to over
come ?