The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1926-09-18

2. Pot Shots at Africa. (Concluded)
8. A Seaman's Seat
4. American Medical Congress
What Is "Jazz"7
Now that w. FRANKIE Harling
(white) has made a so-called jazz
transposition Of that melodious Negro
spiritual, Deep River" adding in his
explanatory notes that in it "jazz
rhythms abound in operate style"
the agitated question Of the com
posite makeup Of "jazz" has received
new impetus. A few weeks ago,
Paul Whiteman, (white), famous or
chestral conductor, made the asser-
ton that '"Jazz" came to this country
with the first shipment of Negro slaves,
who wove into their songs broken
rhythm which depicted their woes and
anguish
What is "jazz"? Is it a new or
old rhythm? BY what peculiarities
does it identify itself, and is its origin
pure or adulterated? We would say,
and with. greatest respect for all the
opinions which have been thrown into
the musical melting pot Of syncopation,
that jazz is the child Of "Ragtime"
and the grandchild of a semi-broken
rhythm which attended the early eff
forts Of white musical writers to make
musical minstrelsy Of their comic de-
scriptions of Negroes.
The co-called days of "coon-shout-
ers" probably marked the embryo pc
Rod Of jazz. May Irwin, singing 'I'm
a Little Alabama Coon" and when
l Go that Levee Round" was prob
ably one of the forecasters of the jazz
period. Next, quickened syncopa-
ton made possible by the physics gov
erning the mandolins and banjos
brought about the idea of jerky syn
copation which could be reduced to
musical script Negroes contributed no
little part to this banjo-mandolin We
hicle of the new and catchy rhythm.
When Bert Williams and George
Walker took the road with the Sons
Of Ham," the broken rhythm featured
several of their songs. In the mean
time, white music writers were fever
ishly copying the new syncopation and
moulding it into tunes like "Dixieland,"
Peter Piper" and other original syn
equations.
Then, Will Marion Cook, our own
greatest artists, came out with clean
cut melody, Emancipation Day."
which, in our humble opinion was one
of the cornerstone of dignihed rag
time or jazz. The period OF changed
rhythm was then on in full Shelton
Brooks, Will Cook, Will Vodery, Viii
liam Tyers, Smith, and others of the
Race, along with white contempora-
ries the country over put out song
after song into which deft pianists
and other instrumental performers put
their fullest zeal and talent in an eff
fort to shake it down" without prone
ly aborting every musical law. ever set
up.
There was but one step further to
make the jazz age musically complete.
The woodward and brass instruments,
such as the clarinet, bassoon, and
saxophone heretofore, but mere adj
juncts and embellishers in orchestral
fantasies, were given thematic parts.
The change has been complete. Jazz is
a razz of aborted syncopation and in
strumentation. 1t is probably here to
stay, in order to appease the exotic pc
Rod which recreation seems to demand
nowadays. It's origin cannot be def
nitely described. 1t has no limitations.
1t is the "chop suey" of the musical
world-but the world seems to want
more of it, sad though that fact be;
and it is a blessing that Schumann,
Mozart and Mendeissohn are not pres
ent to hear it, for they would think,
indeed, that they had lived in vain.
2. Pot Shots at Africa
(Concluded)
This column called attention last
week to the vocal reverberations Of
w. G. Landes, Secretary of the World
Sunday School Alliance, who openly
chided native South Africans for their
''inferiority" complex, decried the idea
of amalgamation with other races, and
argued that working agreement ben
efcial to both races" was the only
solution Of the problem" of the dark
r