Jelly's Last Jam
Glossary of Terms
ALL CAPS = Song lyrics
Sentence case = Dialogue
Chicago Stomp: A song originally composed/performed by jazz and boogie-woogie pianist Jimmy Blythe; considered one of the earliest examples of boogie-woogie ever to be recorded
Ooh child I could dance all night to the Chicago Stomp!
Creole: Referring to a person of mixed European and Black descent; in New Orleans, can refer to individuals of mixed Louisiana French, Central African, West African, Spanish, and Native American origin.
THEY CALLED HIM CREOLE BOY
Elucidate: To make something clear, to explain.
HOME OF THE ‘YEAH’, DO WE HAVE TO ELUCIDATE?
High Falutin’: (Especially of speech, writing, or ideas) Pompous or pretentious, artificially elevated in style.
FROM HIGH-FALUTIN’ TO A HOLE IN THE GROUND
Hock: To deposit as a security or in pledge for money; alternatively, to forcefully spit something out.
HOCK YOUR SOUL AND HIT THE HEIGHTS
Lowdown: A descriptor for bluesy jazz.
A lowdown club somewhere’s between heaven n’ hell.
Mellifluous:Sweet or musical; pleasant to hear (when referring to a voice or words).
I’d like y’all to meet the melodic, the magnificent, the mellifluous Miss Mamie!
Quadrilles: A square dance performed by four couples, in five parts. Popular in 18th and 19th-century Europe and its colonies.
WHILE OTHERS WILL DEBAUCH THEMSELVES NIGHTLY, WE DANCE QUADRILLES AND MINGLE POLITELY
Ragtime:A style of music played on the piano, characterized by syncopated or “ragged” rhythms. Evolved by African American musicians and had its peak popularity from the 1890s-1910s.
FOLLOW THAT UPTOWN-RAGTIME-TAG-ALONG
Revisionist: A reinterpreted account of historical events, one that challenges or differs from the traditionally accepted view.
What Jelly left out of his revisionist reverie is la verité… that’s French for “the boy be tellin’ lies.”
Savoir Faire: A French phrase meaning the ability to act or speak appropriately in social situations; admirable confidence and poise.
I’D FLASH ‘EM THAT SAVOIR FAIRE N’ TOSS ‘EM A SMILE
Spasm Band: A musical group playing a variety of Dixieland, trad jazz, jug band, or skiffle music.
Spasm band...
Syncopation:In music, the practice of displacing the beats or accents or a rhythm so that strong beats become weak and vice versa.
YES, HE WHO DRINKS FROM THE VINE OF SYNCOPATION
Turpentine: A yellow-brown oil or distilled resin harvested from living pine trees; typically used in mixing paints, varnishes, and cleaning products. Has a strong, pungent, bitter taste.
MISSISSIPPI WATER TASTE LIKE TURPENTINE
Un Gens du Commun: Translated from French, “a common people” or “the common people.”
But how did your ancestors feel about you cavorting with un gens du commune.
Variations: In music, a technique that consists of repeating material while changing it melodically, harmonically, rhythmically, etc.
Next, I need some bluesy “variations.”