How To Speak JAZZ

#jazzspeak #hipcat #slang #language #paulthompson
The language of JAZZ is a fascinating aspect of the music and culture. I decided to hunt down some local musicians and find out what their favorite Jazz words were, as well as collect a few favorites I've heard and used over the years. Did your favorite make the list? Let me know in the comments.

#youdig?

Instagram @pdbass74

[morganchilds]

It's not "duckets" its "ducats", like on a pirate ship. Great video... we all talk like this, wherever we are!

[sambac]

Bag also means a player’s vocabulary, chops, tricks etc.

[billhd]

upstairs - to play up tempo, fast ("Did you hear Paul go upstairs on Cherokee?!! killin'!)

[michaelgossett]

"Can you swing that Axe?" (NYC)
Definition can you play ?
The best response I received from a young Bass player was "No, it swings me."
Dark - evil (NYC)
"From the Git - Go" - From the start (NYC) also "From the Gitty Yap"
One of my favorite expressions come from Dr. Maya Angelou
"Singin' and swingin' and gettin' merry like Christmas!"
"I got the world in a jug and the stopper in my hand." (Charleston, S.C. circa. 1940's)
"Slick" - Very cosmopolitan, sly (NYC)
"Sky" - hat, headpiece.
"Man" - (noun, adj.) In 1940's Black musicians began addressing one another as "Man" because the racial climate of the U.S. would refer to adult Black males as "boy".
(Adj.)" He played like a natural Man."
I thoroughly enjoyed this episode.

[brhim]

“cookin” has gotta be one of my favorites!

[ascani]

This is PRICELESS, Paul!! What a cool idea. I loved your explanations and the slammin' examples of the slang words. I dug seeing all the Burgh cats who I adore being a part of it!! I even learned a few new ones... Never heard the Sears & Roebuck reference!

[jerryburdick]

Hip to the script. But the cat on the soundtrack is burnin'.

I'm in San Francisco, but started in Tucson. Back then, you introduced a bad cat by saying, "That's a [name of instrument] playin' emmeffer there."

[bassocanario]

FINALLY got around to checking this whole video out...Loved it🤗
The bass-playing in the background is just wonderful, too.

[beeshor]

I LOVE THIS!! I've been talking in this way just about all my life. This language is the way we all talked when I was growing up in the 70s.

[HerkDawgIII]

“Lamb Tongues” - money
“Inside” or “Outside” - approach
“Ictus” - beat drop or displacement

[sambac]

The woodshed is where you swing your ax, to get your chops together. From DC, but have played on the W. Coast, last 40+ years

[fredjacksonjr.]

The old cats used to use Stroll when you want the rhythm section to drop out doing a solo. This is a great video knowing the vernacular. 😊

[christopherhovis]

I’m from Kansas City, a lot of the horn players here refer to “clams” as “bifs.” Like: “man, I had a pretty good solo, but there were a few bifs in there!”

[markgauthier]

Many of these were familiar to the cats I gig with here in MD. But from your video I did teach them a new one. Last night at sound check we were running through the list and talking solo order and I asked if this tune was an "all skate" ...got looked at funny for a sec but after I explained it they loved it! - a new jazz slang term has been introduced. Thanks Paul and keep up the amazing content 👏

[msgflava]

I've heard and used "downbeat" to refer to the start time of a gig. If the downbeat is at 8pm, then you have to plan time for loading in your gear! I'm from L.A., but it's a pretty ubiquitous term.

[patrickr]

The explaining of the words, or their meaning, is not only a way to learn the language, or music, in this case.
This video is brilliant, to me.
It is jazz education, at its best.
I am so thankfull, for every video, you upload.

[camjam]

do some laps ~ go over tunes. "Come on over to the crib and we can do some laps."

[rebeccaschade]

One of the things I love about jazz slang, is that very often, you instantly get what it means, simply from the context, even in the case of words that normally mean the opposite, such as "bad". And while I'm sure that there was similar types of slang used before jazz music became a thing, I do get the feeling that a lot of the slang used in other fields today, both musically (such as hip hop) and in other cultures, like gaming etc. is very inspired/influenced by jazz slang. Terms like "word", "dope" or "dank" have a very similar flavour to that of jazz slang.

[charlessmith]

I know a few terms. "The head", "The tag", "exchanging fours", "exchanging eights", "turnaround", "break."

[johnpauljones]

I like the term "Doghouse" for the upright bass.