By Tommy "Gee" Gaston

The story of jazz is not complete without some insight into it's roots: Dixieland. To the best of our knowledge, what we now call traditional "New Orleans style" jazz first appeared around the turn of this (20th) century. It came from New Orleans spreading outwards in all directions. Other historians maintain that this type of music began spontaneously in different parts of America. What we do know is that this type of music grew from a number of sources: songs and dances of Negro slaves, minstrel show music, American folk music, religious music, ragtime piano, the blues and also marching brass bands. The minstrel show music, ragtime piano and the marching brass bands had the most influence on the first Dixieland bands of this period. To typify traditional New Orleans jazz, I will go out on a limb and say that this style of jazz is only a step away from the marching brass band music. These marching brass bands were prominent in New Orleans and were used for funeral services in the streets for the general public to participate along with.

In 1859 a minstrel show manager named Dan Bryant needed a new marching tune (called a "walk around" back in those days) for his minstrel company. He hired Daniel Emmett, the author of the songs: The Blue Tail Fly and Old Dan Tucker. The song that Emmett wrote this time was called Dixie. Emmett did not have any idea that this song would become so popular, he merely wrote Dixie as a routine job for a regular minstrel performance. Dixie was introduced via burlesque show in New Orleans just before the outbreak of the Civil War. The sentiment and catchy words of this song took the fancy of the Louisian soldiers and they carried the tune into the Confederate Army where it was established as the war song of the South. It is interesting to note that the word "dixie" was used in Louisiana to refer to a ten dollar bill- the French word "dix" meaning "ten". Others favor the idea that "dixie" is a simple contraction of the "Mason and Dixon line". Very interesting to also note that author of Dixie (Daniel Emmett) was a northern man hailing from New York.

After the Civil War and around the turn of the 20th century in New Orleans, the "hot" music of the time was known as ragtime, a word dirived from a shuffling clog dance black men called "ragging" much like our "stomp" music of today. In all actuality, it was Dixieland jazz or traditional New Orleans jazz they were forming with the second element that being the blues. We know that in the early minstrel shows mentioned above, the word "jasbo" was heard frequently. It is a fact that the word "jazz" was coined in Chicago in 1914. It is also a fact that in 1915 the Original Dixieland Band performed at the Boosters Club in Chicago and the audiance kept demanding encores by shouting " more jass". This band had enough sense to re-name themselves The Original Dixieland Jazz Band and other bands added the word "jazz' to their bands names after this term caught on.

Both the music and the word "jazz" first appeared on a record label in February of 1917 when Victor records released "Tiger Rag" and Livery Stable Blues" by the Original Dixieland Jass Band (sic). And so begins the journey of Dixieland / New Orleans jazz music and it's founding musicians outwards from New Orleans to Chicago and then to other parts of this country. This music spread like wild fire and rapidly became popular as a style of dance music ( and popular to it's musicians ) having no fixed parameters other than improvisation in syncopated rhythms against a regular pulse (much like ragtime) and an inherited melodic and harmonic blues style (minor thirds and sevenths).

There are many contributors to our world of Dixieland/New Orleans jazz including the tribal drums of Africa and also the musical tone qualities of classical European scores. But perhaps we should mention two of the most influential contributors. These two men lived in New Orleans and were the true pioneers of traditional New Orleans jazz. On the blues side of things, we had Charles "Buddy" Bolden and his improvising cornet bringing his style out into the streets for all to hear and enjoy. On the ragtime side of things, we had the father of the jazz piano, Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe Morton otherwise known to all as "Jelly Roll" Morton author of Tiger Rag and many other compositions. These two men ushered in an era in music which saw a long succession of musicians who helped make New Orleans the capital of jazz that continues to grow and expand to new music forms even to this very day and I for one am ever grateful.