Milton ‘mezz’ mezzrow – really the blues

p12-13:

- Those chants and rhythmic calls always struck a gong in me [blues chants]
- The white man is a spoiled child, and when he gets the blues he goes neurotic
o But the negro never had anything before and never expects anything after, so
when the blues get him he comes out smiling and without any evil feeling
p.223-233

- Jive, dan buryley says, ‘is the same means of escape that brought into being the
spirtuals as sung by american slaves
- jive isn’t just a refletion of a primitive state
- the heart of jive is action
o that’s why it’s peculiarly and uniquely a Northern negro’s creation
- once they tore off the soul-destroying strait-jacket of uncle tominism, those talents
and creative energies just bust out all over
o these kids weren’t schooled to use their gifts in any regular way.
o So their aritistyr and spirt romped out into their language
- Fitted together, the new cats form a portrait of Uncle Tom—in reverse, a negative
print
o They add up to something might impressive, a real man
- A lot of it [their language] consists of flowery ofay phrases and puffed-up clichés that
are pureposely twisted around to show how corny and funk they are, like a man’s
features are twisted ina caricature to show how simpy he is inside
- Bootlegging and the numbers racket flourished in Harlem, but the boys didn’t want
no part of its leaders and trigger men
o The way they handled the gangster situation amazed me
- Boasting doesn’t cut any ice; if oyu think you’ve got something… go to work and prov
eit
o If you have the stuf the other cats will recognise it frankly, with solid
admiration