JAZZ SLANG

AXE- ANY MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. MM
BLOWING SESSION- A RECORDING DATE OR A "JAM" SESSION AT
WHICH THE MUSICIANS PLAY WITHOUT THE BENEFIT OF WRITTEN
MUSICAL ARRANGEMENTS. USUALLY, THE SESSION WILL PROCEED
WITH A COMMONLY KNOWN STANDARD COMPOSITION AS A HEAD OR
LEAD-IN TO THE IMPROVISATORY SEQUENCE. MM
BLOWING SNAKES- EXTREMELY CAPTIVATING PLAYING, I.E., PLAYING
THAT IS MESMERIZING ENOUGH TO CHARM A SNAKE. MM
BOMB- AN UNEXPECTED ACCENT. MUSICALLY, A SUDDEN RHYTHMIC
ACCENTUATION ON THE BASS DRUM. MORE GENERALLY, THE TERM
REFERS TO ANY UNEXPECTED SITUATION AS IN SOMEONE "DROPPING
A BOMB" ON YOU. MM
BRIDGE- THE IMPROVISED OR "B" SECTION OF A COMPOSITION.
THUS, IF A 32-BAR SONG IS STRUCTURED AABA, THE NEXT-TO-LAST
8 BARS ARE THE IMPROVISED "BRIDGE" LEADING BACK TO THE
COMPOSED MELODY LINE (ALSO KNOWN AS THE "CHANNEL"). MM
CHANGES- AS IN "PLAYING THE CHANGES." THE TERM REFERS TO A
FORM OF IMPROVISATION, ESPECIALLY PREDOMINANT IN THE BEBOP
STYLE, IN WHICH THE PLAYER IGNORES THE ORIGINAL MELODY LINE
OF AN ESTABLISHED COMPOSITION ("EMBRACEABLE YOU") AND
IMPROVISES UPON ITS HARMONIC STRUCTURE. IN THIS MANNER
THE MUSICIAN NEED KNOW ONLY THE CHORD STRUCTURE OF A GIVEN
COMPOSITION IN ORDER TO IMPROVISE A NEW MELODY. THUS
CHANGES=CHORD CHANGES. FURTHER, IN A NON-MUSICAL SENSE,
"THIS GUY MAKES THE RIGHT CHANGES" MEANS THAT ONE ACTS IN
THE PROPER MANNER. MM
CHOPS- THE FACILITY OF A MUSICIAN TO PLAY A MUSICAL
INSTRUMENT. THE USAGE IS NOT LIMITED TO INSTRUMENTS
INVOLVING THE MOUTH. THUS A PIANO PLAYER MAY BE SAID TO
HAVE GOOD "GOOD CHOPS." MM
DRUG- TO BE DEPRESSED, ANGRY, OR DISGUSTED. "I AM DRUG"
MEANS THAT ONE IS NOT HAPPY WITH THE CURRENT SITUATION. MM
EYES- "I AM INTERESTED IN," AS IN "I'VE GOT EYES FOR THAT."
THOUGH THE USUAL REFERENCE IS TO INTEREST IN A MUSICAL
DEVELOPMENT, IT MAY BE USED TO INDICATE INTEREST IN
ANYTHING. THE EXPRESSION IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN COINED BY
TENOR SAXOPHONIST LESTER YOUNG (1909-1959). MM
PULL YOUR COAT- TO GET SOMEONE'S ATTENTION, AS IN PULLING
A COATTAIL. THE USUAL REFERENCE IS TO MAKING SOMEONE
AWARE OF A NEW DEVELOPMENT ("HE PULLED MY COAT TO ...). MM
STRETCHING OUT- PLAYING CHORUS AFTER CHORUS OF
IMPROVISATION. THE TERM CARRIES WITH IT THE INFERENCE THAT
THE SESSION IS RELAXED AND SPONTANEOUS SO THAT
IMPROVISATION PERSISTS AS LONG AS THE SPIRIT DICTATES. MM
TRADING FOURS (TRADING EIGHTS, TRADING TWOS)- A SERIES OF
SOLOS FREQUENTLY TAKEN BY TWO HORNS OR BY HORN AND DRUMS
DURING WHICH ONE MUSICIAN PLAYS FOUR BARS AND IS
ANSWERED BY HIS COUNTERPART WITH FOUR BARS. THE PROCESS IS
REPEATED WITH EACH PLAYER TRYING TO OUTDO THE OTHER.
FRIENDLY COMPETITION USUALLY DEVELOPS AMONG THE MUSICIANS
MAKING FOR EXCITING AND HEATED IMPROVISATION. MM
WAX- AS A NOUN, WAX REFERS TO THE PHYSICAL VINYL RECORD
DISC. AS A VERB, "TO WAX" MEANS TO PLAY ONE'S INSTRUMENT.
THEREFORE, "HE WAXED NOSTALGIC" MEANS THAT THE MUSICIAN HAS
PLAYED HIS INSTRUMENT IN A NOSTALGIC MANNER. IN NON-
MUSICAL SITUATIONS, WAX MAY BE USED TO DESCRIBE THE ACT
OF CONVERSING OR DISCUSSING. MM
WIG- A VERB MEANING TO BECOME FRANTIC OR EXCITED. "HE
WIGGED" WOULD INDICATE UNCONTROLLABLY EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR.

Submitter comment: IN THE EARLY 1960'S, EVERY TWO WEEKS I HAD MY HAIR CUT
AT A CONVERTED GARAGE IN RIVER ROUGE, MICHIGAN. THE
"BARBERS" CUT HAIR BY DAY AND PLAYED JAZZ BY NIGHT. IF A
CUSTOMER, WHILE WAITING FOR A HAIRCUT, DESIRED READING
MATERIAL, PAST ISSUES OF "DOWNBEAT" MAGAZINE, AND LITTLE
ELSE, WERE AVAILABLE IN ABUNDANCE. MUSICIANS' JARGON
FLOURISHED, AND MY EARLIEST KNOWLEDGE OF A JAZZ TRADITION
CAME FROM THESE MEN. THEIR CONVERSATION REQUIRED
TRANSLATION, AND I WAS A REGULAR CUSTOMER LONG BEFORE I
UNDERSTOOD MORE THAN HALF OF ANY ONE OF THEIR DISCUSSIONS.
THEY WERE MUSICIANS WHO CUT HAIR IN ORDER TO EAT. THEIR
GREAT FEAR WAS THAT CREEPING COMMERCIAL INTERESTS OF THE
TIME WOULD LEAVE NO ROOM FOR JAZZ. ANYONE DESIRING AN
EDUCATION ABOUT AMERICA'S "INDIGENOUS ART FORM" NEED ONLY
SIT IN AND PAY ATTENTION.
WHEN JAZZ MADE ITS RADICAL POST WORLD WAR II SHIFT
FROM DANCE MUSIC (SWING) TO LISTENING MUSIC (BEBOP), IT
REFLECTED THE DESIRE OF THE MUSICIANS INVOLVED TO BE NOT
ENTERTAINERS, BUT ARTISTS. BLACK MUSICIANS ESPECIALLY
FELT RESENTFUL THAT VISIONARY CONTRIBUTIONS HAD BEEN COPIED
AND MADE COMMERCIALLY SUCCESSFUL BY WHITE ARTISTS, WHILE
BLACK ARTISTS LANGUISHED. THE NEW MUSIC, DUBBED BEBOP,
BROUGHT WITH IT A NEW LANGUAGE. LIKE THE MUSIC, IT WAS
OFTEN OBLIQUE, BUT IT INTENDED (ECCENTRICITY NOTWITHSTANDING)
TO INVENT A MANNER OF SPEAKING THAT COULD NOT BE EASILY
COPIED. IT WAS CONSCIOUSLY ELITIST, BUT IT CREATED A
SYSTEM OF COMMUNICATION THAT LEFT PRETENDERS OUTSIDE
AND KEPT THE MUSIC ARTISTICALLY PURE.

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT

Date learned: 00001960S

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