MARILYN CORNWELL: painterly

Tomorrow is International Jazz Day. Jazz.fm reminded me of this. Usually there's a live concert in Toronto to celebrate. I particularly enjoy it at Jorgenson Hall on Bloom Street. I like the intermission interest of views of the CN tower to the south.

Jazz has been popular music throughout the 20th century. And the name? I read that the word “jazz” probably derives from the slang word “jasm,”which originally meant energy, vitality, spirit, pep. The Oxford English Dictionary, the most reliable and complete record of the English language, traces “jasm” back to at least 1860.

However, I find a much more extensive and interesting article on its name origins HERE. What does it say?

"It should be clear by now that all of the popular stories about the origin of the word are wrong — and I do mean all! Word origins seems to be one of those fields where everybody thinks he or she is an expert. One reason there are so many false theories about the origin of “jazz” is that fans, not trained in etymology, have gone looking for any words that sound like “jazz.” They found slightly similar sounds in French, some African languages, even Gaelic."

"One of the most ridiculous stories about the origin of the word, advanced in Ken Burns’ Jazz, holds that “jazz” is short for the jasmine perfume that “all” New Orleans prostitutes wore. (Remember, the word is not from New Orleans — and there are many other reasons this makes no sense.) There’s also no truth to the idea that “jazz” came from “Jasbo,” “jaser,” ”Jasper” or “Jezebel” — all are based on nothing but hearsay. Further, because the word did not originate among African Americans, a connection with African languages does not exist. It did not originate in New Orleans, so there is no connection with French. I know from experience that many of my readers will have their own favorite theories. Please, let go of them!"

Sidney Bechet wrote in his autobiography “Jazz, that’s a name the white people have given to the music.” Why have we been ignoring these revered artists? They were absolutely right."

it shows up around 1913 and used as a spoof at first, then by 1915 applied to music in Chicago. And then there were songs about the new music. And in the 1920s Jazz applied to any type of dance music.

Brian, my brother, is auctioning his award plates from the Ontario Regional Lily Society (ORLS) - I took pictures of them yesterday, and this is my favourite, hand painted by a talented artist who lived hear us in Toronto in the 1990s.